Numbers 9:19, commentary and pictures

When the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for many days Israel remained in camp and did not travel, and that waiting was obedience just as much as marching when the cloud lifted. The resting and the lifting left their movements to no personal choice but kept every tribe in its appointed order under God's direction for their good and His glory. The cloud was Christ guiding them to the resting place He chose, telling them when to move, and guarding and protecting them as they waited and journeyed. So God's people still are to move only when He signals movement and to wait cheerfully when He signals waiting, seeking His will by prayer and providence for where to labor and when to leave rather than pressing ahead on their own plans.

Guidance by the Cloud

When the cloud remained over the tabernacle, even for many days, Israel stayed encamped where they were and journeyed not, and that staying was keeping the charge of the Lord. The resting of the cloud marked where they were to camp, and its lifting was the signal to set out, so they were to wait when it rested and move when it moved. Both the halt and the departure were obedience to God's timing, with the cloud's resting and lifting directing their journeys and teaching them to trust His guidance even when they could not see the way ahead. As they waited under its presence they were guided and protected.

God Himself directed when Israel should camp and when they should journey by the pillar of cloud over the tabernacle. When it was for the good of the people and for the glory of God that they pitch their tents in a certain place, He signified His will by causing the cloud to rest directly over the tabernacle and remain there until He would have them journey again. Their movements were not left to individual choice but were required to be in perfect order under God's direction. That order was carried out with each tribe under its own standard and in its appointed place around the tabernacle.

Soon after leaving Egypt Israel was organized and most thoroughly disciplined under Moses, whom God in special providence had qualified to stand at the head of the armies by his training as a mighty warrior and general. Every tribe pitched under its own standard with the sign of his father's house upon it and marched in order under its own standards when the ark moved, with the ark containing the law of God leading the way. The Levites were designated in the midst to bear the sacred ark, Moses and Aaron marched just in front, and the sons of Aaron followed near with trumpets to signify directions by special certain sounds that the people understood and obeyed. The head officer of each company gave definite directions so that none who gave attention were left ignorant, and disobedience or willing ignorance was punished with death. Only chosen persons could bear and handle holy things, a special family of Levi for the ark and others appointed for the tabernacle and its furniture and its setting up and taking down, to impress their sacredness and reverence upon the people lest any through curiosity or lack of order come near or touch them and be cut off. Both the halt and the departure were acts of obedience marked by solemn invocation by Moses asking the Lord to arise and scatter His enemies at setting forward and to return to the many thousands of Israel at resting.

The cloud was Christ's means of directing the people, He being the light of the world, guiding them to their resting place and signaling when it was time to move. Under this guidance by Jesus Christ Israel learned to wait where God directed and to move when He led, with the cloud showing them when to stop and when to continue their journey. As they waited and journeyed they were guarded, protected, and watched over along the way. The verse therefore teaches attentiveness to His leading and praise for His care.

Following the Cloud Today

The verse teaches God's people to halt when the cloud rests and to advance when it moves, adjusting their steps to the guidance of God's Spirit rather than following plans of their own. To remain in place and keep the Lord's charge when the cloud stays over the tabernacle is to stay in harmony with God, and this calls for cheerful trust and obedience even when the way ahead cannot be seen. Refusing to advance when He leads brings decline.

The only safe course is to be ready to move just when the cloud moves and to journey not while the cloud tarries, keeping the charge of the Lord by moving understandingly and prayerfully under His direction. Decisions about where to labor and where to locate His work are not to be made without the Lord's leading. His will about where to go and where to establish His work is to be known early and clearly by prayer and by His providence, and His providence signifies when to leave one place and where to establish His work.

Waiting means not moving ahead on one's own even when eager, for Israel was eager to enter Canaan yet stayed where they were and faithfully kept the Lord's charge when the cloud remained over the tabernacle for many days. The lesson is to abide where the Lord has placed one until He directs a change elsewhere, with the cloud's movement signaling when to go elsewhere.

The cloud's staying guides to wait and its movement guides when to travel, so its not moving gives no sign to leave the field but calls for remaining at the appointed post. That means remaining in California and continuing the work of writing when the cloud has not moved, without insisting on one's own plans. It likewise means holding the decision to go to America until the cloud moves.

In the work of the church this means continuing to tend an existing interest until God opens the way to move, then following His providence rather than expanding plans beyond the workers and means available. A school's responsibilities are not to be changed prematurely, but changes are to be made when the cloud moves, at a time that will bring victory rather than defeat. While the cloud remains over a camp meeting the tents are not to be taken down and the meeting is to continue, for its continued presence means the people are to wait and seek the Lord while the warning message is being given and people are under conviction.