Matthew 18:20: ”For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
As God’s people, what do we have if we do not have His presence in our lives? We are told by biblical historians, e.g. Josephus, that the Ark of the Covenant was missing in Herod’s temple. It was lost or hidden somewhere during the final Babylonian dispersion of Judah. Therefore, the Shekinah glory of God’s holy presence would not have been in the Holy of Holies between the wings of the cherubim. All those who came to the temple would have been deprived of the great sense of God’s immediate presence. At least some measure of the glory would have departed.
Of course, when Jesus entered the temple and cleansed it, the glory of His presence would have been restored while He was there. However, when He left the temple, the glory of His presence left with Him.
There was no tabernacle or temple in Jacob’s time. Therefore, God chose to reveal His presence to Jacob in this quiet wilderness spot that Jacob called Bethel.
Today, we like Jacob, have no physical building we can resort to in order to feel His presence, such as the tabernacle in the wilderness, the permanent tabernacle in Shiloh, or the temple in Jerusalem.,
However, Jesus said: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” This does not mean the denomination, the church building, or the great preacher that guarantees His presence. It is the authority and power of His name--Jesus. The more His name is exalted and lifted up, the more we will experience His presence.
This is our Bethel and this is our Emanuel (God with us).
Be encouraged,
Colin Campbell