Numbers 9:17, commentary and pictures

When the cloud was lifted from the tabernacle Israel set out on the journey, and where the cloud settled they pitched their tents and remained until it lifted again, so that every march and every encampment was under direct divine direction for their good and God's glory. The cloud was Christ Himself leading them, a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night to guide and protect them, with the ark of God's law going before to show the way and with solemn prayer marking both the setting forward and the rest. It teaches God's people still to order their movements by His Spirit, going forward when He leads and not standing still in spiritual progress instead of following plans of their own devising. The safe course is to be ready to move just when the cloud moves and to wait when He bids them tarry, trusting His direction even when the way cannot be seen and letting the work advance only as He directs.

Guidance by the Cloud

When the cloud was lifted from the tabernacle Israel set out on journey, and in the place where the cloud settled they pitched their tents and remained until it lifted again. Every encampment and every journey was under direct divine direction, ordered for the good of the people and for God's glory. The presence of the cloud over the tabernacle was the signal of where to stay and when to move, and its position showed how long to remain and when to advance. Its movements guided when to halt and when to go forward, so travel and camping followed what it indicated.

While the cloud rested low over the tabernacle the people stayed where God wanted them, and when it lifted high they set out again. Camping and marching were in perfect order, with each tribe in its commanded position around the tabernacle under its own standard with the sign of its father's house. The order placed the Levites bearing the sacred ark in the midst and Moses and Aaron just in front. Distinct trumpet sounds directed the movement and left no excuse for confusion, and failure to comply with the direction given brought death.

The pillar of cloud by day and fire by night led and protected Israel on the way. God Himself guided all their journeyings by the pillar over the tabernacle, its descent and resting indicating the place of encampment and the time to remain, and its lifting the signal to pursue the journey. The ark containing the law of God went before to lead the way. Both the halt and the departure were marked by solemn invocation, asking the Lord to rise up and scatter His enemies when they set forward and to return to the many thousands of Israel when they rested.

The cloud was Christ Himself guiding Israel, telling them when and where to move or rest. During the forty years in the wilderness Jesus Christ led them by the cloud and kept them separate from the surrounding idolatrous nations to teach them dependence on His guidance. The cloud directed their movements throughout their travels, for when it stopped they stopped and pitched where it rested, and when it lifted they broke camp and continued. Their murmuring and complaining despite this leading shows the need to recognize God's guidance and to respond with praise and faithful example. On the borders of Canaan with only the Jordan between them and the promised land, after victory over the Amorites and Bashan, the people fixed their eyes on the cloudy pillar with eager, impatient expectation for it to move and lead them on, but it gave no sign of moving and hovered above the mountain tops overshadowing the tabernacle, keeping them waiting while Moses prepared them for permanent occupation of Canaan.

Following God's Leading Today

The lifting of the cloud from the tabernacle to set Israel journeying, and its settling to fix where they pitched their tents, teaches God's people to adjust their own movements to the guidance of His Spirit, moving when He leads and refusing to stand still in spiritual progress. To cooperate with God is to keep pace with the Leader rather than follow plans of one's own devising. The guiding of Israel through all their journeying by camping where the cloud rested and journeying when it moved calls for trust in God's guidance, for following the Leader cheerfully and going forward at His direction even when the way is unseen and the path He has chosen cannot be seen. The only safe course is to be ready to move just when the cloud moves, moving understandingly and prayerfully under God's direction. His providence signifies His will and is to be trusted as willing to make known, and that right early, where His work should be located, directing in specific decisions of place such as when to leave a place like Battle Creek and where to locate the publishing house. The work is to advance only when God directs, and His servants are to wait when He directs them to tarry, ready to act when His providence indicates the time and place.

The work already begun is to be kept moving forward until the cloud moves, and then followed, while avoiding plans that outrun available workers and means. The direction of travel and rest by the lifting and settling of the cloud is a pattern of waiting in place until God directs a move elsewhere. Those where God's work is assigned are to remain there until the signal to move comes and to go when it does, so that changes are made when God indicates the time and not through hasty action. Where the cloud does not move there is no direction to leave, as when its rest showed there was no instruction to go to America. While the cloud remained the people stayed in place, and its remaining over the tabernacle means the tents are not to be taken down. So a camp meeting is to continue while people are under conviction, giving time to seek the Lord and to share the warning message.