Glory Cloud

Ezekiel 10:4-18
"Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim."

Heartbreaking words - the ‘glory departed.’ It speaks to me of the fact that there are limits to God’s patience. He does not carry us mindlessly on in things that are not of Him, or lend His approval.

When the glory departs, the blessing departs; the shine, the feeling of well-being, the knowledge God is in it and it will have some eternal value. The protection is gone. The help of God’s hand to give blessing and prosperity. That ability to gain favor with the influential and powerful.

Ezekiel 43:1-5
A description of God’s glory entering the temple of Ezekiel’s vision. It brings to mind other ‘glory of the Lord’ passages. For example when the glory filled the actual temple of Solomon (1 Kings 8:10,11), and before that when His glory was in the cloud of fire that went before the Israelites and then entered the tabernacle and was evident on Moses’ face. It also came down on the mountain of transfiguration, then shone around the tomb at the resurrection, blinded Saul, is now in heaven.

This "glory" - what is it? The palpable presence of God in light and radiance? The power of thousands of volts of electricity, so that people can’t stand upright? A whiteness and cleanness that exposes all sin, nauseates the sinner, fills him with self-revulsion and conviction?

I have never experienced this aspect of God. Do I really want to? Could I stand it? What is the price of knowing God in this way? Am I willing to pay it?