Numbers 9:18-
22 At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed,
and at the commandment of the LORD they pitched:
as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents. ... Or [
whether it were] two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel
abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed.
Exodus 13:21-
22 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: ...
He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the
pillar of fire by night, [
from] before the people.
Exodus 40:38 For
the cloud of the LORD [
was] upon the tabernacle by day, and
fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
Deuteronomy 1:33 Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents [
in],
in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.
Nehemiah 9:12 Moreover
thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light
in the way wherein they should go.
Nehemiah 9:19 Yet thou
in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness:
the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.
Psalms 78:14 In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.
Psalms 105:39 He
spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.
Isaiah 4:5-
6 And the LORD will create
upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies,
a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for
upon all the glory [
shall be]
a defence. ... And there shall be a
tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and
for a covert from storm and from rain.
1 Corinthians 10:1 Moreover, brethren,
I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all
our fathers
were under the cloud,
and all passed through the sea;
2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that
God was in Christ,
reconciling the world unto himself,
not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Revelation 21:3 And I heard
a great voice out of heaven saying,
Behold, the tabernacle of God [
is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and
they shall be his people, and
God himself shall be with them, [
and be] their God.
; This cloud not only enlightened the Israelites, but also protected them, and was a continual pledge of God's presence and protection. To this manifestation of the Divine glory, the prophet Isaiah alludes, when he says (
Isaiah 4:5 And the LORD will create
upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies,
a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for
upon all the glory [
shall be]
a defence.
), "The Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night." God is the director, protector, and glory of his church.
