"The cloud covered [the
tabernacle] by day, and the appearance of fire by night. And when the cloud was
taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed; and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents" (Num. 9:16,17).
The wilderness is a journeying
place; and if there is the danger of journeying away from God, there is the
blessed and happy privilege of journeying with Him. The first step of the
children of Israel’s journey, even in Egypt, was taken under the guidance of
the pillar of cloud and fire. And in the present passage, when the tabernacle
was set up the cloud hovered over it, moving only when the people were to
journey.
How beautiful was this cloud in
contrast to their surroundings. In the day time the cloud shielded the people
from the heat as it came between them and the sun; at night the darkness
manifested the brightness of a presence whose reality and beauty were only
enhanced by the surrounding gloom. We have this blessed presence always with us
in the person of the Holy Spirit who abides with us forever. All through our
journey, until we take the last step of our pilgrimage, He is pledged to be
with us; we "are sealed unto the day of redemption" (Eph. 4:30). When
the attractiveness of the world around us shines bright, His holy witness may
seem a cloud by contrast, yet a cloud that affords most grateful shade from the
false glare of the world. If only we would notice the cloud and listen to the
warnings and checks of the blessed Spirit of God! But when the gloom of this
world settles in, when all else is dark, how brightly does the presence of God
shine, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Sorrow, pain, grief, and loss
are but the foil upon which the consolations of Him "who gives songs in
the night" (Job 35:10) shine out all the more brightly.
The holy presence was to be Israel’s guide all through the wilderness, and it is to be ours also. How simple it made
their journey! There was no need for anxious thought for the morrow, no
restless peering into the unknown future, still less any entreaty of a child of
the desert to "be to us instead of eyes" (Num. 10:31). We have the
guidance of One who "neither slumbers nor sleeps" (Psa. 121:4), to
whom "the darkness and the light are both alike" (Psa. 139:12), and
who has pledged, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you
rest" (Exod. 33:14).
This is a blessed journey indeed,
where not one step is taken ahead of our blessed Guide, where we need never
leave the sweet secret of His holy presence. What a remedy for all anxiety, all
restless Martha-service, all hasty Peter-warfare. It does not occupy us with
the way, whether it be smooth or rough, whether easy or perilous. Rather, it
fixes our eye upon Christ, as reflected by the Holy Spirit, and we follow as He
leads. Our one, our only care is just to abide in His presence. Does that
presence beckon us onward? let us move forward without fear. Does it stand
still? let us learn our lesson of patience. If in our darkest hour of trial it
lifts and moves forward, it is for us simply to follow—to follow not for the
sake of mere progress, but simply to continue in communion with our blessed
Lord. If we fail to go on when He leads we lose our communion, just as we do if
we press on in undue or self-confident haste. May our gracious God teach us to
abide in His holy, blessed presence.
"And now, little children,
abide in Him" (1 John 2:28).