Under the Cloud

B e thankful to God for the blessings in your life.   This is our final lesson from Numbers 9, the second Passover. Let's recap our 10 lessons from this chapter of the book of Numbers: Celebrate God’s work in your life.   Seek spiritual advice, especially in new situations.   Eagerly participate in spiritual community.   Be clean before worshiping.   Open your heart to worshipers who are different from you.   Value God’s character.   Emulate God’s character.   Honor God by being resistant to a complaining attitude.   Let God take the lead in your life.   Be thankful to God for the blessings in your life.   The Lord’s cloud was a manifold blessing to His people.  Have you ever been outside on a hot day when the sun is just beating down on you?  And have you ever been out on one of those days and a cloud moves in front of the sun?  I always thank the Lord for the great relief I feel at those times.  A little cloud and a cool breeze can make all the differenc

Who is in charge of your life?  From where (or whom) do you get direction?  Our Israelite friends emulate for us how to give God control of our lives and follow Him. We see them make a lot of mistakes and disobey God, but as a group they really do follow His lead, especially in the encampment.  God's cloud moved whenever they were to set out and it settled where they were to encamp. Obedience to God keeps us in the will of God so our fellowship with Him can be close, strong and open.  God says if we love Him, we will obey Him. (John 14:23)  He taught Israel obedience by leading them with the cloud.    Numbers 9:17-23:  “ Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the  Israelites encamped.   At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabe rnacle, they remained in camp.  When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeye

We're learning life lessons from Numbers Chapter 9.  The rest of chapter 9 tells us about the cloud of God.  The cloud covered the Tent of the Testimony from evening till morning, providing firelight in the sky.  What an awesome sight that must have been!  This cloud was given to Israel as a visible sign of God’s presence.  God told the people to make the tabernacle.  He gave them the design and moved to hover over it.  This was His meeting place with Moses.  The Israelites could see the cloud as a cloud during the day, then at night, when you usually cannot see a cloud very well, it appeared to be on fire.  Like the burning bush Moses saw in the wilderness when he was called back to Egypt ( Exodus 3 ), the cloud was never consumed.  We are told in Deuteronomy 4:24, that our God is “a consuming fire, a jealous God.”  James tells us that the Spirit He causes to live in us envies intensely ( James 4:5 ).  We are to honor God with our lives.  The Israelites were able to simply lo

Last week we talked about valuing God's character.  The character of God is unlike any mortal.  As we learn about God and see His perfect character, the challenge is to reflect Him, especially when we are under pressure.  We have the challenge to emulate  God  within our respective spheres of influence.  Whether we are raising our own children, teaching, ministering, administrating, interacting with others at work, or socializing, we would do well to follow God’s model.  Are we considerate, flexible, reasonable, fair, patient, far-sighted, generous, organized, economical and firm as He is?  Do we give second chances as he granted a second Passover to the impure or traveling?    Of course we will never be as flexible, generous, farsighted, economical, helpful and wise as our God, but he tells us to “Be perfect as I am perfect” and “Be holy as I, the Lord your God, am holy” ( Matthew 5:48 and Leviticus 19:2 ).  God is setting a goal for us and He wants us to look different

As we continue in our study to learn lessons from God in Numbers Chapter 9, we focus on valuing God's Character.  We can learn so much about God's character in His Word.  Knowing His character helps us to love Him more and be aware of what He wants our character to be like. Roy Gane says, “In Numbers 9:1-14, we see several aspects of God’s character at work.           1. He takes the trouble to remind the Israelites that Passover is coming again           2. He is flexible in His requirement to observe the festival           3. He bends the rules for those stuck in a dilemma           4. He is generous, providing beyond the immediate need to an ongoing rule           5. He is farsighted, also providing for people on long trips to celebrate at a later date           6. He is economical, setting up ongoing rules as answers to similar questions in the future           7. He is not susceptible to manipulation, but emphasizes that exceptions apply only to those