And on the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle of the tent of testimony; and at even it was upon the tabernacle as the appearance of fire, until the morning.
Israel has just set up the tabernacle. On that very day a cloud settles over it — visible by day, glowing like fire through the night. Here God takes His place in the middle of His people. Everything that follows in Israel's journey depends on it.
The date at the start of the chapter ties this scene to the finished tabernacle in Exodus 40.
From Exodus 40:17, and verse 15 of this chapter, we learn that this was the very time when the tabernacle was set up. It was the moment when the cloud "covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle." So it was exactly then that God took possession of His sanctuary, so that He might dwell among them — the sign and fruit of accomplished redemption.
The verse gives the tabernacle a second name: the tent of the testimony.
A tent was all He would use until then; but that was the tent of meeting — not just where Israel was to meet, but where God was to meet them. It was also called the tabernacle of testimony. Deep inside it lay the ark, which held the tablets that bore witness of what God required from man.
The cloud marked the spot where God had come to live, and it met every need of a people camped in open desert.
God's presence is in this place of worship. It gives light, guidance, shelter, everything, and so (v. 15) "the cloud covered the tabernacle." God's presence was there. Israel was to know that God brought them out of Egypt so that He might dwell among them (Ex. 29:46). Here is the power of grace: anything that does not fit with holiness sets aside the purpose of redemption, "that I may dwell among them."
The same cloud looked like fire once evening came. One writer draws a lesson from dark times.
Redemption places us in the wilderness with God. It is the presence of God Himself that leads us. We must acknowledge the presence of God if we want to be strong and courageous as we cross the wilderness… In the darkness and difficulties the presence of God is even more clearly seen.
The next verse says this was the unbroken pattern. One writer ties that steadiness to God Himself.
God granted His presence on the ground of redemption. And since with Him there is "no variation or shadow due to change" (James 1:17), we find here the words, "So it was always." They forfeited His presence only by turning away from Him, as we have to learn later on.
Nothing in the landscape could tell Israel where to go. That is what made the cloud so valuable — and so testing.
You could not imagine a lovelier picture of complete dependence on divine guidance, and complete submission to it. There was not a footprint or a landmark anywhere in that "great and terrible wilderness." So it was useless to look for guidance from those who had gone before. They depended on God for every step of the way… To a mind that will not bend — a will that has never been broken — this would be unbearable. But to a soul that knows, loves, trusts and delights in God, nothing could be more deeply blessed.
The cloud both sheltered the camp and told it when to move.
Protection always requires obedience, and obedience always requires protection. To leave out the first is legalism; to leave out the second is lawlessness.
The sign was public and constant. The chapters that follow show how little that changed the people's hearts.
Nothing could be more stirring and heart-searching than the constant sight of the cloud over the tabernacle in the centre of Israel's camp — a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. Every Israelite could see it from his tent door. And yet the history of their complaining proves how little their hearts really rose to it. Circumstances had more effect on them than the fact of God's presence and its proven power and grace. It was then, as now, a question of faith in God. May we not ask ourselves whether we are more believing than they were?
- Redemption first. The cloud came down the day the tabernacle went up. It was "the sign and fruit of accomplished redemption," not a reward for good behaviour.
- Presence next. God brought Israel out of Egypt to dwell among them. His presence gave "light, guidance, shelter, everything."
- Never changing. "So it was always" — cloud by day, fire by night, because with God there is no variation or shadow due to change.
- Obedience answers. Protection and obedience are two halves of one relationship. Drop either one and you get legalism or lawlessness.
- Sight is not faith. Every Israelite could see the cloud from his tent door. Yet circumstances moved them more than God's presence did.
So it was continually the cloud covered it, and at night it was as the appearance of fire.
Numbers 9:16 is about steadiness: cloud by day, fire by night, without a break. What did that steady sign mean for a people camped in a trackless desert? And what does it say about how God leads His people now?
The tabernacle was the tent where God came to live among the people He had rescued from Egypt. The cloud that settled on it was the visible proof.
In this place of worship you find God's presence. It gives light, guidance, shelter, everything, so (v. 15) "the cloud covered the tabernacle." God's presence was there. The people of Israel were meant to know that God brought them out of Egypt so that He might live among them.
The words "So it was always" carry the weight of this verse. One writer roots that permanence in God's own character, and names the one thing that ever broke it.
God granted His presence on the ground of redemption. And since with Him there is "no variation or shadow due to change" (James 1:17), we find here the words, "So it was always." The people lost His presence only when they turned away from God, as we learn later on.
The cloud never left, and that shaped how Israel lived each day.
The cloud was always there, so that whatever they did should have been done knowing that the Lord was with them. The uncertainty from day to day, the lack of water, and so on, made them depend on the Lord. The difficulties of the way taught them that God was always near to help them.
Darkness did not hide God from Israel. It did the opposite.
In the darkness and the difficulties God's presence is even more plain and visible.
The sign never depended on the hour or the conditions around them.
It always stood out against the natural world around them: a cloud by day, and by night its glory flashing into fire. It made them independent of their circumstances — able to travel by day or by night. The Keeper of Israel is with them, watching without sleep and caring without pause. He leads; they follow. In the wilderness, where there is no way, He marks the way.
Because the cloud decided everything, Israel could not plot a route or set a date.
There was not a footprint or a landmark anywhere in that "great and terrible wilderness." So it was useless to look for guidance from those who had gone before. They had to lean on God for every step of the way. They lived in constant waiting on Him. To a mind that refuses to submit — a will that has never been broken — this would be unbearable. But to a soul that knows, loves, trusts, and delights in God, nothing could be more blessed.
That left the people with a very small and very demanding job.
On the people's part, their responsibility had two parts: to keep their eye on the cloud — the sign of the Lord's presence — and to let its movements alone guide them. The Lord's will, expressed in this way, was to be their only law. So their one responsibility was to obey without question.
No one in the camp could miss this sign.
Nothing could be more stirring and heart-searching than the constant sight of the cloud over the tabernacle at the centre of Israel's camp — a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. Every Israelite could see it from his tent door. And yet the story of their complaining shows how little their hearts rose to it. Their circumstances affected them more than the fact of God's presence, with its proven power and grace.
We have no pillar of cloud overhead today. One writer names what has taken its place.
The cloud in its movements made known Jehovah's will. We have no such external sign to declare the will of God to us. We have the internal presence of the Holy Spirit. And He guides us through His Word, which we must consult for direction and guidance.
Israel lived under a limit that we share.
When they traveled they did not see beyond the cloud, or beyond the fire. In the same way, believers today do not have to see in advance what they may meet. Instead they can trust the Lord to lead in the way He chooses.
- Presence. The cloud on the tent showed God living among the people He had rescued — giving them "light, guidance, shelter, everything."
- Always. "So it was always" rests on God's own unchanging nature. Only the people's turning away ever cost them the sign.
- Night. The same presence turned to fire when darkness fell. In trouble God's nearness became more visible, not less.
- Obedience. With no landmarks ahead, Israel's whole duty shrank to two things: watch the cloud, and move only with it.
- Now. No pillar hangs over us. The Holy Spirit lives in us and guides us through Scripture — and we still cannot see past the next step.
And when the cloud rose from the tent, then the children of Israel journeyed; and at the place where the cloud stood still, there the children of Israel encamped.
Israel has just kept the Passover in the wilderness. The tabernacle now stands with the cloud resting over it. From here the nation has no map and no schedule of its own. Every march and every halt waits on a cloud that lifts when God chooses.
The cloud was not a sign for Israel to read. Its rising and settling carried the weight of a word from God.
In this way the Lord placed Himself at the head of His redeemed people. In His patient grace He led them through every stage of their wilderness journey. The movement of the cloud counted as the Lord's word. If it rose from the tabernacle, that was the same as His command; and it meant the same if it stayed on the tabernacle. ... So the Lord took charge of guiding His people all along their journey. He made His presence known to them through the cloud, and His will through the movements of the cloud.
No earlier travellers had left a trail for Israel to follow.
You could not imagine a lovelier picture of complete dependence on God's guidance, and submission to it, than the one here. There was not a footprint or a landmark anywhere in that "great and terrible wilderness." So it was useless to look for guidance from those who had gone before. They had to lean on God alone for every step of the way.
The wilderness had no road, and that was on purpose.
God takes this care of us on Himself because we are in the wilderness, where there is no way. He does it so that God Himself might be our way. He will not give us a way that nature can find out. You find His way only in communion with the Lord. When we say "There is no way," this will throw us upon God, who will lead us in His own way.
The verse gives two instructions, not one. Neither the timing nor the destination belonged to the people.
The people had a two-fold responsibility. They were to keep their eye on the cloud — the sign of the Lord's presence — and to follow only its movements. ... When to set out again, or where to pitch camp next, was not their concern at all. The One who had redeemed them out of Egypt did everything for them. Knowing this, they could have rested in His infinite love and wisdom without a single care or anxiety.
Marching behind a cloud means you only ever see as far as the cloud.
When travelling they could not see beyond the cloud, or beyond the fire. Believers today do not have to see in advance what they may meet. They can trust the Lord to lead in the way He chooses.
Jesus Himself lived this way, and it explains His delays.
So Jesus never went anywhere except where the cloud led Him. When they told Him that Lazarus was sick, He waited two days — and yet He loved Lazarus. It matters that we do not only avoid what is evil. We should also do what we do because it is the Lord's will. Not a step in my journey, but the Lord has thought about it for me.
The danger is not an unclear cloud. It is reading our own preference into it.
How often we falsely imagine, and boldly claim, that the cloud is moving in the very direction we already want to go. We want to do a certain thing, or make a certain move, and we try to persuade ourselves that our will is the will of God. So God is not guiding us; we are deceiving ourselves. Our will is unbroken, and so we cannot be led in the right path. The real secret of God's guidance is to have our own will fully subdued.
Christians have no such outward sign today. Writers point instead to the Spirit and the Scriptures.
As long as the cloud rested on the tabernacle, the people of Israel stayed in camp. When it moved, they went on with their journey. ... The cloud's movements made the Lord's will known. We have no such outward sign to declare the will of God to us. We have the inward presence of the Holy Spirit. And He guides us through His Word, which we must consult for direction and guidance.
- Presence leads. The Lord put Himself at the head of His redeemed people and made His presence known through the cloud.
- Presence speaks. The cloud's lifting and resting carried the force of a command. Guidance was never guesswork.
- Presence sets the pace. Staying put was obedience just as much as marching. The next campsite was never Israel's to choose.
- Presence exposes the will. The usual failure is not a hidden cloud but an unbroken will that reads its own wishes as God's direction.
- Presence remains. No visible cloud leads believers today. The Spirit within takes that place, guiding through the Word — and Christ Himself moved only where the cloud led.
According to the commandment of Jehovah the children of Israel journeyed, and according to the commandment of Jehovah they [remained] encamped; all the days that the cloud dwelt upon the tabernacle they encamped.
Israel has camped in a desert with no roads. One thing tells them whether to move or stay: a cloud resting over the tent where God lives among them. This verse says the cloud is more than weather. Its rising and settling carry the Lord's own command, so marching and camping are both obedience.
The cloud was not a signal sent from a distance. It showed God Himself at the head of His people, and its every move had the weight of a command.
In this way the Lord placed Himself at the head of His redeemed people. In His patient grace He led them through the various stages of their wilderness journey. The movement of the cloud was the same as the Lord's word. If it rose from the tabernacle, that was the same as His command; and the same was true when it stayed on the tabernacle. So the Lord took charge of guiding His people through their whole pilgrim path. He made His presence known to them through the cloud, and His will by the movements of the cloud.
The ground itself gave them nothing to go on.
You could not imagine a lovelier picture of complete dependence on God's guidance, and submission to it. There was not a footprint or a landmark anywhere in that "great and terrifying wilderness." So it was useless to look for guidance from those who had gone before. They had nothing but God to lean on for every step of the way. They were in a position of constant waiting on Him. To an unsubdued mind — an unbroken will — that would be unbearable. But to a soul that knows, loves, trusts and delights in God, nothing could be more deeply blessed.
There is no road, and God meant it that way.
God takes this care of us on Himself because we are in the wilderness, where there is no way. He does it so that He Himself might be our way. He will not give us a way that nature can find out. We only find His way in communion with the Lord.
The verse weighs setting out and staying put alike. Standing still can be the harder half.
It might feel hard to stay month after month, and year after year, in the same place. Their progress might look slow. Their own human energy might urge them to press forward. But until God gave His clear approval, "they remained in camp." Man might scoff at their inaction and call it foolishness. Man might criticise their long delays and put them down to weakness. But "the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
Darby sees Jesus living by this same rule, delay and all.
So Jesus never went anywhere except where the cloud led Him to go. When they told Him Lazarus was sick, He stayed two days — and yet He loved Lazarus. It is important that we do more than avoid evil. What we do, we should do because it is the Lord's will. There is not a step in my journey that the Lord has not thought about for me.
Living at the command of the Lord cost Israel the ability to plan anything.
They could make no plans of their own. When they camped they did not know how long it would be. When they marched they did not know how long it would last. They had to fix their eyes on the cloud every morning, every night and all day long. They had to look up.
Mackintosh warns that we can use the language of guidance to bless what we already wanted.
How often we imagine, and confidently claim, that the cloud is moving in the very direction that suits our own leaning. We want to do a certain thing, or make a certain move, and we try to persuade ourselves that our will is the will of God. So instead of God guiding us, we deceive ourselves. Our will is unbroken, and so He cannot guide us properly. The real secret of being guided by God is a will that is fully subdued.
The sign has changed. The guidance has not.
The cloud in its movements made known the Lord's will. We have no such outward sign to declare the will of God to us. We have the inward presence of the Holy Spirit. And He guides us through His Word, which we must consult for direction and guidance.
- Presence — The cloud showed God living among a redeemed people. He took His place at the head of their march.
- Word — When it rose or rested, that was His command. Moving and staying were both His will, not their choice.
- Waiting — Staying put was obedience as much as setting out. Long delays looked like weakness, but they were God's timing.
- Will — Guidance needs a subdued will. Without it we mistake our own wishes for the cloud.
- Way — In a desert with no path, God Himself is the way. Today the Spirit, through His Word, does what the cloud once did.
And when the cloud was long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of Jehovah, and journeyed not.
Israel had just kept the Passover, and a cloud had covered God's tent since the day they raised it. That cloud set their whole travel schedule, and this verse holds the hardest case of all: the long halt, when nothing moved for days on end.
One writer explains how a cloud could carry the force of a spoken command:
The cloud's movement carried the same weight as the Lord's word. If it rose from the tabernacle, that was the same as His command. If it stayed on the tabernacle, that was His command too. The Lord took on the guidance of His people through their whole journey. He made His presence known to them by the cloud, and His will by the movements of the cloud.
The same writer shows how little was left for Israel to decide, and how ready they had to be:
If the cloud stayed on the tabernacle, they stayed in their tents and did not travel. If it rose — even the next morning, after they had just pitched their tents — they were to march forward again. When to start travelling again, or where to camp next, was not their concern at all. The One who had redeemed them out of Egypt undertook everything for them.
The verse does not say they waited. It says they kept the charge of the Lord. One commentator carries that over to us:
When the cloud stayed many days (v.19) they were to keep the charge of the Lord. So while we stay here we have only one thing to occupy us — God. And if our eye is healthy, our whole body will be full of light.
That charge centred on the sanctuary — the tent they had built and had to carry:
The business of Israel was now with the sanctuary. We too are sanctuary people — "a spiritual house, a holy priesthood." First they built its parts and vessels. Then they either kept the charge of the Lord when the cloud rested on it (Numbers 9:19), or they carried it as the testimony of God through the wilderness.
No one had crossed that desert ahead of them:
You could not imagine a lovelier picture of complete dependence on divine guidance, and submission to it, than this one. There was not a footprint or a landmark anywhere in that great and terrible wilderness. It was therefore useless to look for guidance from those who had gone before. They had to lean wholly on God for every step of the way. They lived in constant waiting on Him. To an unsubdued mind — an unbroken will — this would be unbearable. But to a soul that knows, loves, trusts and delights in God, nothing could be more blessed.
The same writer applies the halt straight to how we speak about our own plans:
This means giving up our own will, our own plans, our own management altogether. We must follow the cloud; we must wait always — wait only on God. We cannot say, "We shall go here or there, do this or that, tomorrow or next week." Every movement of ours must fall under the ruling power of one commanding sentence, one we often write and speak far too lightly — "If the Lord wills."
Waiting that long drew mockery from onlookers. One writer answers it:
It might be hard to linger month after month, and year after year, in the same place. Their progress might look slow. Their own natural energy might urge them to press forward. But until God gave His express sanction, they remained in their tents. People might mock their inaction and call it foolishness. People might blame their long delays on weakness. But "the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
- Stillness speaks. A cloud that stays put speaks as loudly as a cloud that rises. The long halt in this verse is an order, not silence.
- Stillness works. Israel did not just wait out the delay. They kept the charge of the Lord, busy with His sanctuary while the cloud rested on it.
- Stillness depends. The wilderness held no footprints to follow. Every step threw them on God — unbearable to an unbroken will, but sweet to a heart that knows and loves Him.
- Stillness surrenders. Following the cloud leaves no room for our own timetable. Every plan stands under "If the Lord wills."
- Stillness wins. Months in one place can look like weakness. But God's slowness is wiser and stronger than our hurry.
And if it were so that the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle, according to the commandment of Jehovah they encamped, and according to the commandment of Jehovah they journeyed.
Israel had just kept the Passover at Sinai. Now the cloud over the tabernacle set the timetable for the whole camp, and one thing fixed every short stop and every march: the command of the LORD.
The cloud was not just a signal in the sky. Its rising and its resting carried the force of a command.
In this way the Lord placed Himself at the head of His redeemed people. In His patient grace He led them through the various stages of their wilderness journey. The movement of the cloud counted as the Lord's word. If it rose from the tabernacle, that was the same as His command; and so too if it stayed on the tabernacle. So we read: "At the command of the LORD the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the LORD they camped." He made His presence known to them through the cloud, and His will by the movements of the cloud.
The length of each stop varied. The people had no say in it.
The cloud also acted as a sign that regulated when the people moved and when they stayed. Such matters were not settled by the votes of the people or by the wisdom of Moses, but by the command of the LORD. The cloud might rest for only two days, or it might rest for a month or even a year. While it rested, the people rested. When it moved, the people moved. So the wisdom of God regulated their wilderness journey.
The whole camp lived by watching.
That huge camp depended on the cloud: over 600,000 men of twenty years and older, the 22,000 Levites, and hundreds of thousands of women and children. They could make no plans of their own. They did not know where they would go the next day. When they camped, they did not know how long it would be. When they marched, they did not know how long it would last. They had to keep their eyes on the cloud every morning, every night, and all through the day. They had to look up.
Waiting was not doing nothing. It was doing what God said.
It might seem very trying to linger month after month and year after year in the same place. Their progress might look slow. The energy of the flesh might urge them to press forward. Yet they "remained in camp" until God gave His express sanction. People might scoff at their inaction and call it foolishness. They might criticise their long delays and call them weakness. But "the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." The Lord brought them into the land in His own time and in His own way.
Getting the timing wrong in either direction costs the same thing.
Suppose an Israelite in the desert decided to act independently of Jehovah. Suppose he moved when the cloud was at rest, or halted while the cloud was moving. We can easily see what the result would have been. And so it will always be with us. If we move when we ought to rest, or rest when we ought to move, we will not have the divine presence with us.
We can misread the cloud when our own will has already chosen.
How often we wrongly imagine, and boldly claim, that the cloud is moving in the very direction our own inclination leans. We want to do a certain thing, or make a certain move, and we try to persuade ourselves that our will is the will of God. So instead of being divinely guided, we are self-deceived. Our will is unbroken, and so we cannot be guided rightly. The real secret of being guided by God is to have our own will thoroughly subdued.
For us the guide is a Person, not a rulebook.
We are passing through a trackless desert — a moral wilderness. There is absolutely no way. We would not know how to walk, or where to go. But one sentence fell from the lips of our blessed Lord — the most precious, the deepest, the most far-reaching of all: "I am the way." Here is divine, infallible guidance. We are to follow Him... This is living guidance. It is not acting by the letter of certain rules and regulations. It is following a living Christ, walking as He walked, doing as He did.
- Command, not cloud. The cloud was the visible form of a spoken will — its rising and resting each carried the force of God's word.
- Command sets the clock. A few days, a month, a year — God's wisdom fixed the length of every halt, not the people's votes or even Moses' judgement.
- Command in both directions. The verse says "according to the command" twice — once for staying, once for going. Remaining in camp was obedience as real as marching.
- Command needs a bent will broken. We easily tell ourselves the cloud is moving where we already wanted to go. Only a subdued will reads God's guidance truly.
- Command has a face. Christ says, "I am the way" — guidance now is not a rulebook to apply but a living Person to follow.
And if it were so that the cloud was there from the evening until the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed; or a day and a night, and the cloud was taken up, they journeyed;
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
or two days, or a month, or many days, when the cloud was long upon the tabernacle, dwelling upon it, the children of Israel [remained] encamped, and journeyed not; but when it was taken up, they journeyed.
Numbers 9 ends with the camp under a cloud. The cloud wrote the nation's diary: two days, a month, a year — it made no difference. The verse raises a hard question: what do you do when God says nothing but "stay"?
God set the length of every halt, not the people camped under the cloud. One writer shows how far this took the decision out of human hands.
The cloud acted as a sign that controlled when the people moved and when they stayed. Such matters were not settled by the votes of the people or by the wisdom of Moses, but by the commandment of the Lord. The cloud might rest for only two days, or for a month, or even a year. While it rested the people rested. When it moved the people moved. So the wisdom of God controlled their whole journey through the wilderness.
Another writer finds freedom from worry in the same arrangement. He names what the people were responsible for, and what it saved them from.
The people's responsibility was two-fold: to keep their eye on the cloud — the sign of the LORD's presence — and to be guided by its movements alone. The Lord's will, expressed this way, was to be their only law, so unquestioning obedience was their only responsibility. When to start travelling again, or where to pitch camp next, was absolutely not their concern. The One who had redeemed them out of Egypt undertook everything for them. Knowing this, they might have rested in His infinite love and wisdom without a single care or anxiety.
Verse 19 says that during the long halts Israel "kept the charge of the LORD." Standing still had its own work.
When the cloud stayed many days (v.19) they were to keep the charge of the Lord. So while we stay here we have but one thing to occupy us — God; and if our eye is healthy, our whole body will be full of light.
Is this sweet or suffocating? It depends on what you think of the One holding you there.
They were wholly cast upon God for every step of the way. They were in a position of constant waiting upon Him. A mind that has never been subdued — a will that has never been broken — would find this unbearable. But to a soul that knows, loves, trusts, and delights in God, nothing could be more blessed.
The life of Jesus is read as the cloud-pattern lived out in a man, both in moving and in staying still.
He was always dependent. Every movement, every act, every word — all He did, and all He left undone — was the fruit of the most complete dependence upon God, and subjection to Him. He moved when God would have Him move, and stood still when God would have Him stand.
One of His delays is picked out to show that a pause is not coldness — it can be the very shape of love.
So Jesus never went anywhere except where the cloud led Him to go. When they told Him that Lazarus was sick, He stayed two days, and yet He loved Lazarus. It is important that we not only avoid evil. What we do should be done because it is the Lord's will. Not a step in my journey, but the Lord has thought about it for me. If the cloud does not move we cannot move, and our complete inability to act is our power against Satan.
The common problem is not a lack of light. We read our own preference as God's direction.
How often do we imagine, and even say, that the cloud is moving in the very direction that suits what we already want. We want to do a certain thing, or make a certain move, and we try to persuade ourselves that our will is the will of God. So instead of God guiding us, we deceive ourselves. An unbroken will cannot be rightly guided. The real secret of being guided by God is to have our own will fully subdued.
The unanswered prayer about which road to take may itself be the answer.
We pray about it, and get no answer. We pray again and again, and get no answer. How is this? The simple fact is that God wants us to be quiet — to stand still — to remain just where we are. So let us stop straining our minds and troubling our souls about what we ought to do. Let us do nothing but wait on God.
- Cloud decides. Two days or a year, the Lord's command fixed the length of the stay — not the people's vote, not even Moses' wisdom.
- Waiting is work. Israel spent the long halts keeping the charge of the Lord — with one occupation, God Himself.
- Trust makes it sweet. Total dependence is unbearable to an unbroken will and deeply blessed to a soul that knows and loves God.
- Christ is the pattern. He moved when God moved Him and stood still when God held Him. Staying two days while Lazarus lay dying was love, not neglect.
- Silence is guidance. Prayer that gets no answer about the next step often means: stay where you are and wait.
At the commandment of Jehovah they encamped, and at the commandment of Jehovah they journeyed they kept the charge of Jehovah according to the commandment of Jehovah through Moses.
Numbers 9:23 closes a passage where one thing set every move of a nation of former slaves: a cloud over the tent of God's presence. It raises the question every believer asks — how does God make His will known, and what do we do while nothing moves?
The verse says twice that Israel moved "at the command of the LORD." What they watched was a cloud.
The cloud's movement was the same as the Lord's word. If it rose from off the tabernacle, that was His command; and so if it stayed on the tabernacle. The Lord took charge of guiding His people through their whole journey. He made His presence known to them through the cloud, and His will by the movements of the cloud.
Half of the verse is about not moving. Sitting still can look like failure.
But "the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
God commanded both the resting and the journeying. So an Israelite could disobey in either direction.
Suppose an Israelite in the desert had decided to make some move on his own, apart from the Lord. Suppose he moved when the cloud was at rest, or stopped while the cloud was moving. We can see what the result would have been. And so it will always be with us. If we move when we ought to rest, or rest when we ought to move, we shall not have the divine presence with us.
The desert had no paths to follow, and that was deliberate.
If we have no word from God, we can do nothing, because it is by every word that comes out of the mouth of the Lord that man lives... God takes this care of us on Himself, because we are in the wilderness where there is no way. He does it so that He Himself might be our way. He will not give us a way that nature can find out. We find His way only in communion with the Lord. When we say "There is no way," this will throw us on God, who will lead us in His own way.
The same pattern shows up in the life of Jesus.
So Jesus never went anywhere except where the cloud led Him to go; so when they told Him that Lazarus was sick, He waited two days, and yet He loved Lazarus. It matters not only that we avoid evil. Whatever we do, we should do because it is the Lord's will. There is not a step in my journey that the Lord has not thought about for me... If the cloud does not move we cannot move; our utter inability to act is our power against Satan.
No cloud hangs over believers today. Guidance now comes through two things, and never through one alone.
Two things give us confidence — the written word, and the Holy Spirit. For human reason cannot fathom the word; without the Spirit it comes to nothing. The Holy Spirit guides us by the word. Both are necessary: not the word only without the Spirit, nor the Spirit without the word. We need the Holy Spirit to give us the desire to understand the word, and the strength to walk and obey.
The danger is rarely open rebellion. It is mistaking our own preference for His direction.
How often do we fool ourselves and firmly claim that the cloud is moving in the very direction we already want to go. We want to do a certain thing, or make a certain move, and we try to persuade ourselves that our will is the will of God. So instead of God guiding us, we deceive ourselves. Our will is unbroken, so we cannot be guided rightly. The real secret of being guided by God is to have our own will thoroughly subdued.
- Command — The cloud and God's word said the same thing. Israel saw His presence in it and read His will from it.
- Command to stop — Staying in camp for a month or a year was as much obedience as marching. Delay is not failure.
- Command to go — Moving when God rests, or resting when God moves, forfeits His company either way.
- Christ — He waited two days over a friend He loved, because the will of God, not the urgency, set His pace.
- Compass — Now the written word and the Holy Spirit guide together, never one alone. The chief obstacle is a will that has already decided.