Deuteronomy 1:33
Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day. Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.
The verse belongs to the history of Israel's forty years of wandering, with its failures and victories and wonderful experiences, to be rehearsed often and kept before the people to strengthen faith, giving principles to be carried out in every new move as given just before Israel came into possession of Jericho. It shows that God went ahead of Israel in the wilderness to search out a place to pitch tents and to show by what way they should go, guiding the route by a cloud by day and fire by night so that His direction was visible. This wilderness leading was the work of Christ through forty years, guiding by the pillar of cloud and teaching truths they later heard from Him in human form.
It reveals God acting as a loving, compassionate father and not as a stern, relentless judge, faithful to His promises in pardoning transgressions and retaining Israel as His people. His care and guidance gave Israel reason to trust Him, yet at the border of Canaan and the challenge of entering they did not believe Him, and their dissatisfaction, impatience, rebelliousness, distrust and unbelief were their great sin. The verse belongs to the record showing why the Lord refused to bring the adults of the army that left Egypt into the promised land, proving His promises are upon condition of obedience, because with pride, unbelief and disobedience they were not prepared to enter and did not bear His character of purity, goodness and benevolence or represent a people whose God is the Lord, so their perversity made it impossible for Him to manifest His power for them.
The delay in entering Canaan and Israel's misfortunes are not chargeable to God, who was more grieved than they by the delay because He could not bring them into immediate possession of the promised land and thus display before all nations His mighty power in their deliverance, and their delay dishonored Him and detracted from His glory in the sight of surrounding nations. The verse directed Israel in faith toward immediate possession of Canaan, so that had they yielded in faith to God's direction, being governed by His judgments and walking in His ordinances, they would long before have been settled in Canaan as a prosperous, holy, happy people. The verse is part of words of the Lord written for the admonition of those living at the end of the world and upon whom the ends of the world are come.
The verse belongs to Deuteronomy 1 and 8 which are to be read in full, together with Deuteronomy 7:6 and the whole of Deuteronomy 7, to teach learning the word of the Lord and appreciating and obeying His voice in self-denial and sacrifice rather than holding to human ideas and judgment. It teaches full following of the Lord's guidance rather than following human judgment up to a point, viewing everything in the light of Christ's example and perfection of character instead of feeble human standards. It shows that God guides His people in the present state of things in the same way He went before the armies of Israel, so that when sought by earnest prayer He indicates where a school shall be located and what measures must be taken to secure sufficient land for cultivation, that Sabbathkeepers who love and fear God may support their families, educate their children, and be made self-sustaining under growing pressure on the Sunday question. It implies that as Israel did not recognize Christ as the heaven-sent Teacher when He came to the world, so His earlier guidance can be missed.