Exodus 40:34 – 38 “Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses was unable to enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was lifted from above the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out through all the stages of their journey. If the cloud was not lifted, they would not set out until the day it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel through all their journeys.”
That day when Moses was directing the erection of the Tabernacle for the first time, he had no idea what was about to happen! Moses set up the Tent of Meeting first and then sited the various articles in their specified locations. The final act was to set up the courtyard with its curtains and its gateway. Obviously, Moses must have had lots of help, probably from the priests and all the artisans who had worked on the Tabernacle.
Did the earth begin to shake as Moses closed those gateway curtains that completed the courtyard? Were there divine trumpet blasts? We don’t know. All we do know is that the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle, appearing like a cloud over the Tabernacle. As if that were not enough, at night the cloud glowed with the Fire of God. By that point, people may have been flat on their faces in awe!
From the time the Tabernacle was dedicated throughout the rest of their journeys, the Israelites were led by the Glory of the Lord as expressed in the cloud. If the cloud began lifting, those assigned to carry the various parts of the Tabernacle would have had to move swiftly to roll up curtains, pack up basins and altars and pillars and be ready to start walking as soon as the cloud began to move forward. Everyone else in the camp would have to be ready to pack up and move as well.
Living under these conditions could not have been easy. Imagine being an Israelite housewife. You finally have the tent arranged the way you want it and you have finally unpacked things you have carried for months. Suddenly the word goes through the camp that it’s time to move. You have no choice; you start packing immediately. And as you are packing, you wonder what your next camping place will be like. Will there be water? Will there be shade? Will there be grazing for the animals? What will you use for cooking fuel? No. Maintaining a household under such circumstances could be really tough!
APPLICATION: Be careful what you wish for! Many times, people will claim that they just want to know God’s will for their lives. The unstated implication is that as soon as God reveals His Will, these people are ready and willing to obey. But in practice, this is far from the truth. When you follow God, the only thing certain is God Himself.
“Well, we will go visit that village, but there’s no way we will work there. You are a surgeon, and the only health facility is a small health center.” The year was 1992 and we were visiting a remote clinic at the invitation of some friends. We had all our reasons marshaled as to why this location was a totally impossible idea…. And those reasons all fell apart when we stepped out of the vehicle in the mission house yard, and the Holy Spirit descended, wrapping around us like a warm blanket. Suddenly, we KNEW that we were supposed to come to that village.
Subsequently, we endured a small tribal war, health challenges, and a number of other problems. But what kept us in that location was the certain knowledge that this was God’s perfect Will for our lives.
How can you know God’s will? Ask Him! God is a good Father and does not play guessing games with His kids. But you must be ready to follow His leading once you have asked.
One of my favorite hymns describes what happened to those men who became disciples of Jesus:
They cast their nets in Galilee
just off the hills of brown;
such happy, simple fisherfolk,
before the Lord came down.
Contented, peaceful fishermen,
before they ever knew
the peace of God that filled their hearts
brimful, and broke them too.
Young John who trimmed
the flapping sail,
homeless in Patmos died,
Peter, who hauled the teeming net,
head-down was crucified.
The peace of God, it is no peace,
but strife closed in the sod,
Yet let us pray for but one thing—
the marvelous peace of God.
PRAYER: Father God, help everyone who reads this devotional to seek Your perfect Will for their lives. And help them to follow Your leading. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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