show this point: God’s living presence, not the temple, comes first. God’s call to Abraham and to Moses came before the temple and outside the land of promise. At the burning bush of God’s appearing the desert was holy ground. The angel of God’s presence brought the living oracles of God to the assembly at Sinai; the tabernacle itself had a heavenly pattern. Even when the temple was built according to God’s promise, it was dedicated with the confession that God does not dwell in a temple made with