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What does it mean to live in the shelter of the Most High and to find rest in His shadow? This is how Psalm 91 begins—a psalm many attribute to Moses. i believe that attribution is fitting. Moses is the one who carried Jehovah God’s instructions to His people for constructing the Tabernacle in the wilderness. He witnessed the fabrication of each part and completed the last of the work.(1)

The Tabernacle was completed exactly as the Lord specified and was erected on the first anniversary of Israel’s departure from Egypt.(2) That day, the Lord’s glorious presence descended upon it, covering and filling it with His awesome glory. His presence, previously seen in the guiding pillar of cloud, now took residence within His dwelling place among the people. From that day on, as His Spirit led, the people moved forward; when His Spirit remained in the Tabernacle, the people encamped.

Though their journey was far from over, they had reached a place where they dwelt in the presence of God no matter where they were, for He dwelt in their midst. They had come to live in the shelter of the Most High and rest in the shadow of the Almighty. A journey begun to escape slavery had become a journey into God’s presence.

What was unique about this people that Jehovah would dwell among them? Was it their obedience? No, for they had proven themselves a disobedient, stiff-necked people. Was it their devotion to worship Him alone? No, for this was the same people who, not long before constructing the Tabernacle, had fashioned a golden calf. Was it their faith? No, time and again, they doubted the God whose Spirit went before them, ignoring or outright denying His presence.

This people had done nothing to merit God’s favor. They did not deserve to have the God of Heaven dwelling among them. He dwelt among them because He chose to do so. He chose them to be His people; they did not choose Him to be their God. He promised to bless all nations through them, and He who promised was faithful, even though they broke every promise they made to Him. He continued to show love to them, even when they were at their most unlovely.

He dwelt among His people, because He chose them to be His people. Even though they were sinners, He chose them. Even though they were sinners, He loved them. Even though they were sinners, He led them. And even when they could not do anything to reconcile themselves to a Holy God, He made a way. Even when they did not grasp the desperateness of their condition, He made a way. Even when they turned against His Son, He made a way.

But those early Israelites were not the only ones permitted by God to live in the shelter of the Most High or in the shadow of the Almighty. He made a way for you and me – and His Name is Jesus. As we journey through our current wildernesses, as well as those that will undoubtedly follow if Jesus tarries in His return, God has invited us to walk in His Way; and if we walk in His Way, it is because He has chosen us. And if we are walking in His Way, we can walk with the confidence that He dwells within us.

We dwell in the shelter of the Most High; we dwell in the shadow of the Almighty. The journey that we are on is His journey. He set our feet on the path. He set forth the path. He has determined the journey’s end. He has a purpose for the journey. He will use the journey for our good – to conform us more into the image of His Son – and He will use the journey for His glory.

Be careful as you continue in the journey, our good and His glory will not solely be determined by our destination, He is using the journey itself. We are His Tabernacle – His dwelling place.

"Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare of the LORD:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
He is my God, and I am trusting Him.
For He will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from the fatal plague.
He will shield you with His wings.
He will shelter you with His feathers.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection."(3)

So journey well, fellow sojourner, and heed this lesson first learned in the wilderness at the base of Mt. Sinai: we are His dwelling place!

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You can read about the day God came to indwell His tabernacle in the thirty-ninth and fortieth chapters of the Book of Exodus.

Portions of this post are adapted from chapter 61 of my book, The Journey Begins. For more information about the book, click here.

(1)  Exodus 40:33

(2)  Exodus 39:32; 40:17, 34-38 (NLT)

And so at last the Tabernacle was finished. The Israelites had done everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses. …So the Tabernacle was set up on the first day of the new year. …Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glorious presence of the LORD filled it. Moses was no longer able to enter the Tabernacle because the cloud had settled down over it, and the Tabernacle was filled with the awesome glory of the LORD. Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle and moved, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it. But if the cloud stayed, they would stay until it moved again. The cloud of the LORD rested on the Tabernacle during the day, and at night there was fire in the cloud so all the people of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys.

(3)  Psalm 91:1-4 (NLT)

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