The Cloud By Day And Fire By Night

by HJS

Nehemiah said of God, "Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. By day the pillar of cloud did not cease to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take" (Nehemiah 9:19). He is describing God's presence in the midst of those who fled Egypt, evidenced by a cloud covering the tabernacle by day and a pillar of fire at night. During the forty long years that the children of Israel were in the desert, God provided this unique covering for His people.

God related to His people from the tabernacle in the wilderness, to the temple during the period of the kingdom, to the indwelling of a believer's heart that becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit. In Moses' day, the visible presence of God was seen by the cloud and the pillar of fire. In the New Testament, Paul says that God made your body His temple and that He indwells you.

Jesus also made promises that go even beyond His relationship to those in the wilderness. He said, "Never will I leave you; Never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). During the wilderness wandering, God made provision for His people through a substance called manna. In the New Testament God promised to meet all of your needs according to His riches in glory.

True, it might be more comforting if you saw a cloud over your home by day and fire over it by night. But in taking the promises of God by faith, you realize there is a covering that the enemy can never penetrate.

He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night.  PSALM 78:14