SHEKHINAH - DIVINE PRESENCE

1 When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the [Shekinah] glory and brilliance of the Lord filled the house.

2 Chronicles 7: 1 (AMP)

(1)

INTRODUCTION

Here was Moses walking down the mountain Sinai to rejoin his brethren and present to them the law of God. It was a momentous day, and sure enough, the Israelites understood its importance. What may have surprised Moses, though, was their fear of approaching him. 

Being in the divine presence of the Word of God while fasting for so long resulted in a change in Moses’s appearance; his face glowed. This frightened the Israelites. 

Today, we will look into the Hebrew word for God’s divine presence - shekhinah.

SHEKHINAH - DIVINE PRESENCE

The Hebrew word sh’khinah or shekhinah is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling". It denotes the settling of the presence of God in a place in such a manner that, being in its proximity, the connection to God is more readily perceivable. It primarily points to a divine manifestation of the presence of God. (2)

Nowadays, it is commonly associated with the divine feminine, but in its early usage, it referred generally to God’s presence among the people and had no gender associations. The connection between shekhinah and femininity emerges mainly in Jewish mystical literature. In modern Judaism and Christianity, it is associated with the Holy Spirit. (2)

The word derives from the Semitic root š-k-n (shakan), which means "to settle, inhabit, or dwell". (2, 3) 

THE SHEKHINAH AND THE BIBLE

The word is not found in the pre-rabbinic texts, the Hebrew Bible or the Dead Sea Scrolls. It appears in the Talmud, the Midrash, and the Mishnah.

While not mentioned by name, the manifestation of the Divine presence can be found in the Bible in numerous places. Some of them are:

• Moses and the burning bush

• The pillars of fire and cloud in Israel’s exodus story

• His presence filled Mount Sinai with a thick cloud

• The Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple experienced the Cloud of Glory.

• Yeshua - the Son of Man and God (3)

  
  

It is also reported as being present in other contexts:

• While a person (or people) study Torah, the Shekhinah is among them.

• Whenever ten are gathered for prayer, there the Shekhinah rests.

• When three sit as judges, the Shekhinah is with them.

• The Shekhinah dwells over the headside of the sick man's bed

• The Shekhinah went with the exiled wheresoever they went

• A man and woman - if they merit, the Shekhinah is between them. (3)

YESHUA - THE DIVINE PERSONIFICATION OF SH’KHINAH

Yeshua is the ultimate personification of God’s Divine Presence. He was the Word of God in the flesh. In the Gospel of John, He explicitly states that He is the “I AM” nine times and so identifies Himself with Adonai. 

Michael Heiser stated in his book Unseen Realm that Yeshua was the angel of God; He was the second power to Yahweh, also more commonly referred to as the Son of Man in the Dead Sea Scrolls and other Second Temple literature.  

Jesus Christ, as the ultimate shekinah glory, bridges the Old and New Testaments. He brings God’s presence directly to us, making the divine accessible in a manner previously unimaginable. (3) 

While the Old Testament shekhinah was limited to specific places and the priests, the New Testament shekhinah now dwells on the inside of every believer. (3)

CONCLUSION

Dwelling in the Divine presence of God had some side effects, as Moses discovered. When he descended the mountain to address his brethren, they were wary of approaching him for his face glowed. 

The Hebrew word for the divine presence of God is shekhinah. It is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling". The word derives from the Semitic root š-k-n (shakan), which means "to settle, inhabit, or dwell".

The word is not found in the pre-rabbinic texts, the Hebrew Bible or the Dead Sea Scrolls. It appears in the Talmud, the Midrash and Mishnah.

While not mentioned in name, the manifestation of the Divine presence can be found in the Bible in numerous places. Some of them are:

• Moses and the burning bush

• The pillars of fire and cloud in Israel’s exodus story

• His presence filled Mount Sinai with a thick cloud

• The Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple experienced the Cloud of Glory.

• Yeshua - the Son of Man and God

APPLICATION

Dear Abba, fill us with a fresh outpouring of Your Holy Spirit and revive any areas that require Your divine touch.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/b7e698_e2b6d1e4b225470f9718938bd485182a/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

SOURCES

1. Image created via canva.com

2. Wikipedia. Shekhinah. Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shekhinah

3. Johnny Ova. Shekinah Glory – The Manifest Presence of God in the Bible. Available at https://soh.church/shekinah-glory/