God's presence

¹⁰ Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

¹¹ Seek out the LORD and His strength; seek His face always.

David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you before all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.

May the LORD our God be with us, as He was with our fathers. May He never leave us nor forsake us.

¹¹ Then the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD is about to pass by.” And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.

¹² After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice.

¹³ When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.”

For the LORD your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”

⁶ Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

⁷ Then Moses called for Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance.

⁸ The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

“I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain.”

¹⁴ And the LORD answered, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

¹⁵ “If Your Presence does not go with us,” Moses replied, “do not lead us up from here.

¹⁶ For how then can it be known that Your people and I have found favor in Your sight, unless You go with us? How else will we be distinguished from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

¹⁷ So the LORD said to Moses, “I will do this very thing you have asked, for you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name.”

¹⁸ Then Moses said, “Please show me Your glory.”

¹⁵ Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

¹⁶ When Jacob woke up, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was unaware of it.”

⁴ But now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work! For I am with you, declares the LORD of Hosts.

⁵ This is the promise I made to you when you came out of Egypt. And My Spirit remains among you; do not be afraid.”

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.

In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

¹² And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

¹³ “Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders of which our fathers told us, saying, ‘Has not the LORD brought us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of Midian.”

“Surely I will be with you,” the LORD replied, “and you will strike down all the Midianites as one man.”

Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.

²³ “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away?”

²⁴ “Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.

For I am with you to save you, declares the LORD. Though I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have scattered you, I will not completely destroy you. Yet I will discipline you justly, and will by no means leave you unpunished.”

No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, delivered the message of the LORD to the people: “I am with you,” declares the LORD.

“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).

¹⁰ And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD

¹¹ so that the priests could not stand there to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.

¹² Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.

“Look!” he exclaimed. “I see four men, unbound and unharmed, walking around in the fire—and the fourth looks like a son of the gods!”

¹ When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

² The priests were unable to enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled it.

⁹ Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him

¹⁰ and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.

³¹ When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight. As he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came to him:

³² ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.

³³ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

³⁴ I have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.

³⁴ Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

³⁵ Moses was unable to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

And God was with the boy, and he grew up and settled in the wilderness and became a great archer.

Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.

¹² And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder.

¹³ And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie.

So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

⁴⁵ The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.

⁴⁶ Then Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.” And when He had said this, He breathed His last.

Now therefore, arise, O LORD God, and enter Your resting place, You and the ark of Your might. May Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and may Your godly ones rejoice in goodness.

For I have now chosen and consecrated this temple so that My Name may be there forever. My eyes and My heart will be there for all time.

¹⁰ Since that time, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face—

¹¹ no prophet who did all the signs and wonders that the LORD sent Moses to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his officials and all his land,

² There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw the bush ablaze with fire, but it was not consumed.

³ So Moses thought, “I must go over and see this marvelous sight. Why is the bush not burning up?”

⁴ When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from within the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Here I am,” he answered.

⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

⁶ Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

¹⁰ And as Aaron was speaking to the whole congregation of Israel, they looked toward the desert, and there in a cloud the glory of the LORD appeared.

¹¹ Then the LORD said to Moses,

¹² “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’”