Some of us have sung this song, some have even prayed this song or worshiped to it, others have heard of it and thought it to be a good song, and still others have never even heard of it. But, what is it and why are we praying for it to come?
While studying up on this subject, I came across a lot of very interesting information on this subject so I am going to share some of that with you(if i shared it all it would take a book for sure).
The word shekhinah is not actually found in the bible but, the meanings for it are, and the Hebrew translation tells us where it came from and what it means. It is actually derived from the word shakan or originally (shkn). Jewish scholars actually coined the word shekhinah from the word shakan to mean the same " to dwell, inhabit, or abide" In the Encyclopedia Judaica the word shekhinah is defined as "the Divine Presence, the numinous immanence of God in the world, a revelation of the Holy in the midst of the profane" (volume 14 pp1349-1351).
So the essential meaning of this word in every day terms is , the Glory of God dwelling amongst His people on the earth, or in a particular place. We see that quite often throughout the old testament and occasionally in the new testament we see it but, not as it was in the old testament.
We begin at the beginning of the bible in Genesis; God walked in the garden with Adam and Eve before they sinned, and He spoke audibly to them. Now in 1 Kings 8:27 we see that King Solomon states that even the heavens can't contain His presence.In Exodus 33:20 it says no man may see my face and live, so therefore we know that it was God's presence that walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the garden. From the time they were cast out of the garden until God lead the Isrealites through the wilderness with Moses it was only His voice that was heard.
Then God's presence appeared to Moses in the burning bush and spoke to him. And from then on through the Wilderness His Glory was with them and Moses in a cloud or in a pillar of fire. When Moses asked to see more of God so God answered him by allowing His goodness to pass before him, but, because of the power of His presence he hid him in a rock so that all he was able to see wouldn't destroy him.
When the Isrealites built a tabernacle for God His Glory filled it and even Moses could not enter in. So when the Isrealities finally built a permanent temple for the Lord the place called the Holy of Holies was where the Lord's presence dwelt, between the cherubim on the ark of covenant and when the priest entered to do their duties they tied a rope around their ankles with bells on it so that if the entered with any sin they died instantly and the other priest were able to pull them out. So in this we see that God's glory can not look upon any sin. Which I believe is an example of why God turned His face from Jesus His son when he was upon the cross, because he took on the sin of the world.
And we see that when Israel's sins were so great that God removed His Presence from the temple.
In the New testament we see where God spoke to John the baptist and when Jesus was baptized in water The voice of God was heard by everyone there. But, during the time of Jesus we see no mention of God's presence on earth except when in John14:9, Jesus states that "if you have seen me you have seen the Father."So in this we see that God dwelt among them through Jesus. After the crucifixion of Jesus, we again see the Glory of God come when the disciples were in the upper room praying, a sound like a mighty rushing wind filled the temple and tongues of fire rested on each one of them and THEN they were filled with the Holy Spirit.When Stephen was accused of blasphemy and address the high priests the Glory of God came on Him and his face shined like that of an angel. When Paul was persecuting the christians , the voice of God spoke to him from a great light and he was blinded.
So in the New Testament we see that a few times The Glory of God was seen or heard but, mostly it was in Jesus or upon the Christians. But, in Revelations we see that once again the Glory of God will inhabit the earth and dwell in His temple.
So what is it we are crying out for , the voice of God to speak to us in an audible way? The Glory of God to dwell among us or in us ?
While studying up on this subject, I came across a lot of very interesting information on this subject so I am going to share some of that with you(if i shared it all it would take a book for sure).
The word shekhinah is not actually found in the bible but, the meanings for it are, and the Hebrew translation tells us where it came from and what it means. It is actually derived from the word shakan or originally (shkn). Jewish scholars actually coined the word shekhinah from the word shakan to mean the same " to dwell, inhabit, or abide" In the Encyclopedia Judaica the word shekhinah is defined as "the Divine Presence, the numinous immanence of God in the world, a revelation of the Holy in the midst of the profane" (volume 14 pp1349-1351).
So the essential meaning of this word in every day terms is , the Glory of God dwelling amongst His people on the earth, or in a particular place. We see that quite often throughout the old testament and occasionally in the new testament we see it but, not as it was in the old testament.
We begin at the beginning of the bible in Genesis; God walked in the garden with Adam and Eve before they sinned, and He spoke audibly to them. Now in 1 Kings 8:27 we see that King Solomon states that even the heavens can't contain His presence.In Exodus 33:20 it says no man may see my face and live, so therefore we know that it was God's presence that walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the garden. From the time they were cast out of the garden until God lead the Isrealites through the wilderness with Moses it was only His voice that was heard.
Then God's presence appeared to Moses in the burning bush and spoke to him. And from then on through the Wilderness His Glory was with them and Moses in a cloud or in a pillar of fire. When Moses asked to see more of God so God answered him by allowing His goodness to pass before him, but, because of the power of His presence he hid him in a rock so that all he was able to see wouldn't destroy him.
When the Isrealites built a tabernacle for God His Glory filled it and even Moses could not enter in. So when the Isrealities finally built a permanent temple for the Lord the place called the Holy of Holies was where the Lord's presence dwelt, between the cherubim on the ark of covenant and when the priest entered to do their duties they tied a rope around their ankles with bells on it so that if the entered with any sin they died instantly and the other priest were able to pull them out. So in this we see that God's glory can not look upon any sin. Which I believe is an example of why God turned His face from Jesus His son when he was upon the cross, because he took on the sin of the world.
And we see that when Israel's sins were so great that God removed His Presence from the temple.
In the New testament we see where God spoke to John the baptist and when Jesus was baptized in water The voice of God was heard by everyone there. But, during the time of Jesus we see no mention of God's presence on earth except when in John14:9, Jesus states that "if you have seen me you have seen the Father."So in this we see that God dwelt among them through Jesus. After the crucifixion of Jesus, we again see the Glory of God come when the disciples were in the upper room praying, a sound like a mighty rushing wind filled the temple and tongues of fire rested on each one of them and THEN they were filled with the Holy Spirit.When Stephen was accused of blasphemy and address the high priests the Glory of God came on Him and his face shined like that of an angel. When Paul was persecuting the christians , the voice of God spoke to him from a great light and he was blinded.
So in the New Testament we see that a few times The Glory of God was seen or heard but, mostly it was in Jesus or upon the Christians. But, in Revelations we see that once again the Glory of God will inhabit the earth and dwell in His temple.
So what is it we are crying out for , the voice of God to speak to us in an audible way? The Glory of God to dwell among us or in us ?
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