Commenting on Leviticus 9:4-6 Gordon Wenham says “The return of God in his glory was always something to be looked for. There was a recognition that if God was not present in the tabernacle then all worship there was meaningless. These sacrifices are designed to make fellowship between God and man possible again.”

Wenham makes the point that God’s glory, in that context, was the visible presence of the pillar of cloud and fire which was also seen at Sinai (Lev. 9:4; Ex. 34:16-17). This is the shekinah brilliance that descended on the tabernacle and drove everyone out at its consecration at the end of Exodus.

Interestingly, this visible cloud isn’t the only glory present in tabernacle or temple worship. When David is in the wilderness, he longs to get back to what he has seen in the sanctuary, “beholding your power and glory” (Ps. 63:2). The sons of Korah long for the courts of Yahweh and would rather be bellboys there than owners within another house (Ps. 84:2, 10). The glory of God is found in worship, and considering that the book of Hebrews is one sustained argument that the Old Covenant has been superseded and fulfilled by Jesus who grants us access to more glorious worship, it’s impossible to say there is less glory in worship now than there was then. This leads to the odd conclusion that when we go to worship with the mundane people of God–the banker, mechanic, and mother of five–we are seeing the glory of God. Paul talks about the foolishness of preaching. It seems that God has also chosen to reveal himself through the foolishness of worship. Who would think that the glory of God could be found, even longed for, in a Sunday service?