Yesterday was the first day of Sukkot, which is the Hebrew term for the Feast of Tabernacles, a Jewish harvest festival established by God in Leviticus 23.  Each family would erect a small, temporary structure with their crops in the field where they would take their meals and sleep for the seven days of the festival.  The booth (or "tabernacle") was meant to be an object lesson to Israel commemorating God's sheltering provision and care for His people during the desert wanderings.  It also pictured another tabernacle that served as the physical location of the display of the glory of God in the midst of his people.
 
Early on in the Old Testament, the nation of Israel was chosen by God to be conduit of God's glory, a truth-revealing light to the surrounding nations. God established a relationship and covenant with them. He promised to dwell with them and bless them, as long as they lived in obedience and honored Him as their God.  His glory was displayed as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. This was a visible sign of His shekhinah glory, the glory of God which dwelled among the people.  Israel was to reflect the light of His glory to the nations living in darkness.   
 
Sadly, Israel failed in their assignment. Rather than demonstrating allegiance to the true God with their obedience to Him, their heads were easily turned and they began to worship the false gods of their neighbors. God sent judgment in the form of the Babylonian army, which carried off the nation into captivity and destroyed the Temple. God's glory no longer dwelled in the land.
 
Yet God had not abandoned His promises to Israel. At the right time, He sent another manifestation of His glory to the people. John wrote this about the coming of Christ: "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt ["tabernacled"] among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." While the nation of Israel had failed in its mission, the True Israel (Jesus Christ) would not. He was the fulfillment of all they had failed to do. Jesus saw this mission clearly: "I am the Light of the World; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life." In His obedience, to the point of death on a cross, God's glory was brilliantly displayed for all to see (Philippians 2:5-11, Acts 26:23).
 
Now the responsibility to be a light to the nations has been passed on to us, the Church. Ephesians 2:22 tells us that the church is "being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit." We are a living tabernacle, the shekhinah glory now inhabits us.
 
How do we display His glory? "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples" (John 15:7, 8). When we live lives of obedience, as Israel failed to do, we display the glory of God. It is why Jesus told His disciples, "You are the light of the world. . . let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:14, 16).
 
Of course, the good works and obedience are a result of a relationship which has already been established. When we came to Christ in faith, our adoption as sons and daughters of Christ was made complete. Our obedience is an outward expression of that relationship, just as Israel's obedience was to be an expression of the already established covenant. Yet while the relationship is secure, we should remain steadfast toward the purpose for which we have been called: to be a light to the nations.
 
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments," Jesus told His disciples (John 14:15). In the times when we do this, the glory of God shines brightly for those around us to see. As obedience becomes more of a natural response as we strive to lives of obedience, "we all, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).