THE CLOUD OVER THE TABERNACLE

Passage: Numbers 9:15-23

Key verse: 18

NIV

The Cloud Above the Tabernacle

15 On 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) 16 That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.(E) 17 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out;(F) wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.(G) 18 At 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. 19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order(I) and did not set out.(J) 20 Sometimes 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. 21 Sometimes 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. 22 Whether 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. 23 At 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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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle

15 (A)On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And (B)at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. 16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day[a] and the appearance of fire by night. 17 And whenever the cloud (C)lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. 18 At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they camped. (D)As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel (E)kept the charge of the Lord and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the Lord they remained in camp; then according to the command of the Lord they set out. 21 And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. 22 Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel (F)remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. 23 At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. (G)They kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.

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Footnotes
  1. Numbers 9:16 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew lacks by day
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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