Shekhinah

I was reading through the Bible this year, and, as usual, I always get side-tracked by Moses. I thought I would make it through this time, and got to the end of Exodus and there it was, the thing that, this year, would sloooowww me down in my Bible reading. Exodus 40:34-38.
Moses! You always get me! (Actually, I absolutley love Moses. I am so intrigued by him and the events of his life. His relationship with God is awesome. First he is afraid of God at the burning bush, then we find him growing in his confidence as he approaches God, then finally...I love it...he begs God to show him His glory! AND HE DOES! Well, at least from behind.)
Anyway...
At the end of Exodus, the people are finishing the tabenacle, and when all is done, the blessed Shekhinah (Divine Presence) of God comes down in a cloud and settles on the tent of meeting. And then look at verse 35,

"Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it and the glory of the LORD filled the tabenacle."

WHAT??!!

Moses could not go in...because God was in there? I thought Moses went before God all of the time. Was it not Moses who went up on the mountain into the presence of God into the thick darkness in Exodus 20:21? What is going on here?

With some more investigation I found that, much later, the same thing happens when Solomon dedicates the Temple in Jerusalem in I Kings 8 (see also II Chron. 7:1-3ff).

Verses 10 & 11 - "It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD."

Here, the priests could not stand to serve, because the Shekhinah was there.

Can you imagine the presence of the Lord being so thick in a place that even Moses and the sanctified Priests could not stand it? Wow!

I looked for references to help me with these passages, and, to be quite honest, I could not find much. Hardly anyone would comment. Most was just cross-reference from the Exodus passage to the I Kings / II Chronicles passages and back.

One slight reference did shed some marvelous light on this. It did not say much, but referenced Hebrews 9. (I will not quote the entire chapter here, but read it in light of the above-mentioned passages. I was blown away!)

Jesus, entered, not a man-made tabernacle, or a man-made holy of holies, but the real thing. He was not repelled (maybe not a good word?) by the Shekhinah, but was welcomed. He did not stand outside, but entered in to the most holy place and pulled back the veil and...gained access for all of us. Yes. He invites us into the presence of His Father, and our Father.

He made the exchange.

He has declared us to be what He is.

Righteous.
Pure.
Holy.
Clean.
Good.
Acceptable.

He pulls back the veil.

Welcome home.