Lev 9:6, And Moses said, "This is the thing which the Lord has commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you." 
    	In this morning’s reading, we once again receive the revelation that the glory of the Lord was in evidence within the obedient service of the Chosen people of God. As they obeyed and did those things that God commanded, He showered upon them the visible expression of His satisfaction in their midst. He made it very evident that their service, rendered unto Him was received and accepted through the manifested glory that encompassed that worship. 
	Sometimes, as we will read, His glory was so magnificent that the priests and the people could not remain in the immediate presence of it. They were forced to retreat from His glory simply because it was overwhelming in its breadth and magnitude and intensity. It would have destroyed them if they had remained because it was so awesomely beyond the capability of humanity to bear it all. 
	What we will consider today is the certainty that the glory of God is something that can be experienced in fullness and in reality by those who so honor the Lord with their reverent and obedient hearts which desire to bring glory to His name. As that is evident and apparent in the manner in which lives are lived before God, with The Lord as the focal point and His utmost honor as the goal, so will His glory encompass and give expression to His responding heart of satisfaction in the relationship that is established between man and His Creator. 
	The passages of the Old Testament that we will explore give tremendous detail to the fact that the people were able to see and understand that the glory of God is not some abstract thing in a nebulous environment. It was very real and very much inherent in the manner in which God guided and protected them. This was in evidence, as recorded in Ex 13:21+22, as God’s glory was seen in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night which guided the Children of Israel throughout the wilderness. 
Ex 13:21+22, And the Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. 
	All the people could see the glory of God in the pillar of His presence that went before them. God showed them the way through a most visible presentation of His glory covering and directing their every step. 
This was also the case when the people began to grumble about their lack of food in Exodus Chapter 16, verses 10-12. There, the glory of the Lord was shown to the wandering nation as The Lord made known that He would supply their every need, including both quail and manna to feed them for those 40 years of traveling. 
Ex 16:10-12, And it came about as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.'" 
	As well, the glory of God was extremely evident when Moses went up on Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, as recounted in Ex 24:16+17. Here, the cloud of the glory of God covered the mountain and looked like fire to the Israelites below. Ex 24:16+17, And the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top. 
    	A key aspect of this vision of the glory of God as fire is the inherent truth that His glory is a refining fire bringing forth His Holiness in our lives. It will burn away any impurity of heart and mind and soul as we experience His indwelling glory in action. What they saw on the mountain is manifested in the life of Jesus Christ Who now lives forth from us. 
We do know when God is pleased with our walk before Him. His glory does work in us to deal with every area of our being that is not pleasing to Him. It is like the fiery cauldron of the refiner’s handiwork in action. This vision of the fire on the mountain represented the truth that God’s glory is never to be taken lightly or appraised as less than completely effective in the course of its utter refinement of our hearts and minds.
	We again see the glory of God as the guiding and protecting pillar of cloud in evidence every time that Moses went into the tent of meeting with the Lord, as we recently read in Ex 33:9+10. Ex 33:9+10, And it came about, whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent; and the Lord would speak with Moses. When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent. 
	Please notice how the fact that the cloud representing the glory of God caused not only the people to stop what they were doing and watch as Moses went into the tent to meet with the Lord. It elicited their worship unto the Lord at the entrance of each tent. The revealed glory of God made the people desire to worship the Lord. They offered Him praise and adoration for the fact that He was so gracious and longsuffering and supplied their every need. All the people would arise and worship. That is something that can only happen when people see and know that God’s glory is in their midst. His glory will always bring forth the praise and worship of those who so know Him.
	Then, in Ex 40:34+35, we see just how important it was to God that the people desired to have Him in their presence by constructing the tabernacle of God in the exact accordance as so instructed. They gave so willingly and in such abundance in order to fulfill the every requirement as stipulated by the direction of God. When everything had been perfectly built and constructed and the sacrifices were offered willingly and in profusion, the glory of the Lord descended upon the tabernacle in such power that none could enter, not even Moses. Ex 40:34+35, 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 had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 
	Next, we return to our morning’s reading, Lev 9:23+24, with respect to the manner in which Aaron and his sons were consecrated unto the Lord with the sacrifices and all the preparation as directed by God. When they had fulfilled and prepared everything in accordance with all that The Lord required, He consumed the sacrifices with His holy fire from heaven. 
Again, the glory of God was revealed to all the people in the form of God’s consuming fire. Lev 9:23+24, And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. 
And note the effect this had on the people …and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. The visible presentation of the Lord’s glory caused them to shout and to prostrate themselves before the Lord. There was the immediate recognition that they were not worthy to stand erect in the presence of the most holy and awesome Lord God Almighty. He was willing to reside before them in the tabernacle with His glory represented by smoke and fire, but they had to honor His holiness and His righteousness with their humble and evidenced acknowledgement that He, Alone, deserved all praise and adoration. 
We next consider the manner in which the Lord blessed the people with His glory as recorded in 1 Kings 8:10+11. This was at the dedication of the temple which King Solomon built for the Lord. Just as with the tent of meeting, so also the Lord’s glory was so forceful that the priests were unable to minister at their appointed tasks. 1 Kings 8:10+11, And it came about when the priests came from the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. 
Again the Lord was blessed by the faithfulness and the desire of the people to supply all that was needed in abundance in order for the temple of the Lord to be constructed in Jerusalem. They gave evidence to the fact that they wanted God to be in their midst with the full measure of all that was required to build and to maintain the temple.
This scene is more profoundly detailed in 2 Chron 5:11-14, where the manner of the praise of the priests and the people is expressed. 2 Chron 5:11-14, And when the priests came forth from the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard to divisions), and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and kinsmen, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them one hundred and twenty priests blowing trumpets in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the Lord saying, "He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting," then the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. 
We must never forget that the Lord does respond to the praises of His people. He inhabits their praise more than He inhabits any particular place. Even in these examples of His glory so filling the tabernacle and the temple, it was because His people were offering Him their utmost and sincere and joyful praise.
We are encouraged in this by the Prophet Isaiah in Isa 60:1-5, if you would please turn to it. The prophet makes it very evident that the glory of God is not only seen by His people, but expressed through His people unto the nations. Isa 60:1-5, "Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. "For behold, darkness will cover the earth, And deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you, And His glory will appear upon you. "And nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. "Lift up your eyes round about, and see; They all gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And your daughters will be carried in the arms. "Then you will see and be radiant, And your heart will thrill and rejoice; Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, The wealth of the nations will come to you.
…Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. This is the evident expression of the Lord’s glory upon His people. His glory is expressed in the life and the worship and the adoration of those who know and honor Him.
	In Hab 2:14, we are told that all the earth will be filled with the knowledge of His glory. Hab 2:14, "For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea. 
The truth is that it will be through the testimony of His people that all creation will be shown the glory of God in Jesus Christ. As He lives forth in the lives of His own redeemed, so will it be a growing chorus of praise and worship unto God building to the crescendo of ultimate joyous celebration that God has chosen to so bless His people with salvation and faithfulness and lovingkindness. All will be witnesses to the united song declaring that the Lord, Alone, is worthy of all praise and adoration and honor and glory, now and evermore.
	And finally for this morning, before we leave this deliberation on the revealed glory of God, let us remind ourselves of the refining work of God’s glory, as detailed in 2 Cor 3:18. This is very evident in the course of our daily walk on this earth. As His glory was seen as fire on the mountain and as the devouring fire consuming the sacrifices at the dedication of the tabernacle, so is His glory opened in our hearts and minds through those working expressions as He causes us to become more and more livingly in line with the true nature of Christ, Who now indwells us. 2 Cor 3:18, But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. 
	It is the glory of God in our lives that works to bring forth that praise and adoration in the manner in which we live before Him on this earth. As we obey Him and do all as He directs, so will we see greater and greater measures of His glory surrounding us every moment of every day. It will not be some abstract and hierarchal philosophical statement of dogma. His glory will be the focal point and the evidenced treasure that we seek on this earth as it will be so fully shown in Heaven. So be it. 
    	And Moses said, "This is the thing which the Lord has commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you." Amen. 

This morning’s benediction is Prov 3:5+6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Amen.