The Presence of God
And when the cloud was taken up from over the Tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys. (Exodus 40:36)
Ex. 40:33-38; Num. 9:15-23; Neh. 9:12; Ps. 23:2-4; Haggai 2:4-9; Matt. 17:5 and 28:20
What Is God Saying?
For the pilgrims, led by Moses, the journey to the Promised Land was long and arduous. Because His love never fails and because He had destined Israel to fulfill His holy purposes for the world, God stayed with them and went before them. Without His presence, those who were almost lost would have become lost, and the Exodus would have ended as an experimental failure. All the difference would be in God's presence. Therefore, God gave the cloud as a symbol of His presence. When it rested on the Tabernacle, the people rested. When it moved on, the people followed. The Shekinah glory became an integral part of Israel's heritage. As an expedient but temporary manifestation of God's presence in the wilderness, the cloud became an abiding presence in the Temple of Solomon and finally in the Word that became flesh and dwelt among men. In Haggai 2:9, we read, "The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord." God made it come true in the person of Jesus Christ.
How Does This Apply To Us?
It gives a far greater meaning to that ancient cloud of the Exodus, when we trace it from the wilderness Tabernacle to the great Temple and finally to the visible presence of Jesus, the Word becomes flesh, full of grace and truth. The presence of God in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ is a call to advance through this wilderness world or to rest and refresh our spirits. Israel needed the cloud by day and by night, guiding them to move on or to stay in their tents. The cloud was the token of God's presence. For us, the words and the life, the death, and the resurrection of our Lord, and, not least, the promised presence of the Holy Spirit, are the ‘clouds’ God uses to lead us on or to call us to rest, as He knows best.
Pray With Me
Lord, You are the God of my going out and coming in. The Israelites were led by Your saving presence and fed by the miracle of Your provident grace. Unwanted by others, they were undaunted in You. They wandered in a barren land, but the glory of Your presence was never withdrawn. They saw Your presence in the cloud over the Tabernacle when they rested. They saw Your presence in the cloud over the path when they needed to move on.
So, Your glory has filled my heart in those quiet moments of vision and rest. Give me also the wisdom to rise and go onward. Help me to see the cloud lifting and leading. Help me to see that the glory receding is the glory beckoning. Help me to see that the presence withdrawing is the presence drawing. Lift me away from satisfaction with victories past. Beckon me away from contentment in the present. Draw me through Your wise and loving discipline to the fully committed way to Heaven, through the darkness to light, and through the desert to the land of promise. Then I will know the freedom and joy of being led from "glory unto glory.”
Through Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
We lean on the promises of Jesus. We must put complete trust in the fact that He has given us, as He promised, "another Counselor to be with you forever." (Jn. 14:16) Believing this, we pray in the Spirit. If we pray in the Spirit of God, we ask for the right things and receive the best.
