And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the Lord their God (Exodus 29:46).
God has always wanted to establish His dwelling with and among His people! This is for me one of those statements that require deep meditation as to its meaning. Just think: God the Creator desires to live in and among His creation.
Paul, the apostle, takes the scripture from Exodus further than its Old Testament revelation when he says, “for you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people’” (2 Corinthians 6:16). The apostle tells us in an undeniable way that God not only lives among us but that we are the house in which He dwells. He accomplishes this by the Holy Spirit.
The Lord brought Israel out of Egyptian bondage that He might live among and fellowship with them! What a statement, “I am the Lord […] who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 29:46). The Holy Spirit reveals to Paul that He would also take up residency within the believer. God is now in His temple not made with hands!
There are, however, requirements and also benefits to being the house of God. In Leviticus, He says, “you shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 26:1). This simply says that we must obey the Lord and have nothing in our lives above Him.
The benefits are, “I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit […] you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid […] you will chase your enemies […] five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight […] I will look on your favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you” (Leviticus 26:4-9). These are the New Testament blessings that the Father has given us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Hold true to Him, and your reward is sure.