The journey with God never ends. It only begins. Neither the tabernacle or the temple could hold God’s presence. Yet God chose to alight within them to show that his presence was upon Israel. Here we see that the Tabernacle became a sort of marker by which the Hebrew people could orient themselves. It functioned as a lighthouse in the desert where God could continuously show them where he wanted them to be. In this way it would also provide a source of light at night and allow them to be reassured that he was with them. Though the Hebrew people were free from slavery, they were not merely left alone. They were given all the tools they would need to navigate the world and to feel emotionally protected in the process. And it would be a continual process. It was not merely an event. Instead it was a journey. Today, we have the word of God as our tabernacle and the Holy Spirit giving us comfort of his presence. In this way, our Exodus is a very internal process. We are to follow wherever his word takes us and allow it to dominate those areas of our lives that need cleansing. When we do so, his Holy Spirit, resides there with us, lighting up that darkness until he is ready to move us along in our journey. He eventually our whole being is cleansed in the process.