UBF Daily Bread

THE CLOUD OVER THE TABERNACLE

Passage: Numbers 9:15~23

Key verse: 18

The Cloud Above the Tabernacle

¹⁵On the day the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant law,^(A) was set up,^(B) the cloud^(C) covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire.^(D) ¹⁶That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.^(E) ¹⁷Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out;^(F) wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.^(G) ¹⁸At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained^(H) in camp. ¹⁹When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order^(I) and did not set out.^(J) ²⁰Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the Lord’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. ²¹Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. ²²Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. ²³At the Lord’s command they encamped, and at the Lord’s command they set out. They obeyed the Lord’s order, in accordance with his command through Moses.

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Source: BibleGateway

The Tabernacle was a movable place of worship in the wilderness for the Israelites. When the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud of God’s glory hovered over it. The presence of God was evident by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. God wanted to dwell among his people. Jesus became flesh and tabernacled among us (Jn 1:14). After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit dwells in the hearts of his people (Jn 7:39).

God teaches his people to depend on him and to have obedience to God. Whenever the cloud moved, the Israelites moved. When it stopped they camped. They didn’t know when to move, when to stop, or where to go. They had to be ready to move and ready to stop to follow God’s leading. God had been faithfully guiding them throughout their journey to the Promised Land. After we have been rescued from sin and death through Jesus’ blood, we become holy pilgrims to heaven, the eternal Promised Land. Jesus is leading our journey through his words and the Holy Spirit. To arrive and enter our Promised Land in heaven, we are to learn to depend on him and to obey his words and the Spirit. Where am I in my journey with God?

Prayer: Lord, I am on my journey to heaven. Help me to depend on your guidance humbly and obey your words daily.

One Word: Ready to move; ready to stop