Explore the Bible: September 7
The Journey • Numbers 9:15-23
By Rick Henson
One Sunday, I took a remote control into the pulpit. There, as an illustration, I repeatedly pressed the buttons on my garage door opener and asked if my garage door at home was opening and closing. The people laughed at my intentional foolishness. Someone spoke up, “You have to be close to the garage door motor.” My point was made, since I was miles from my home. Prayer is ineffective if you are far from the Lord.
The Lord God was leading the Israelites through a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud, night and day. The pillar remained over the tabernacle, until it was time to move. The children of God could not ignore the place where God’s presence resided. They had to pay attention to God’s house in order to discern the will of the Lord.
The Lord God had delivered the children of Isreal from their bondage in Egypt though His mighty hand. They had experienced the miraculous, culminating in the drowning of the Egyptian army. Now the Lord simply asked them to follow Him. God told them how to follow Him, so there would be no confusion.
God led the offspring of Abraham to focus on His tabernacle, the place where He met them. He directed them to remain or move by the cloud and the fire. Only by watching the pillars of cloud by day and fire by night could they ascertain the will of God for them. God’s plan for them was simple, yet profound. Keep your eye on the presence of God.
For Christ-followers today, the Bible reads, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 KJV). We must keep our eyes on the presence of the Lord. He dwells in us now, rather than a tent made with human hands, yet God still asks us to seek Him and His will. Hebrews 8:1-2 reads, “We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man” (KJV).
Imagine the physical reality of living where God dwelt in the middle of the camp, three tribes in each direction, centered by the house of the Lord God. Far better for us, the spiritual reality of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27, KJV).
God required obedience from the Hebrew children. His will was no mystery. As He led, they were to follow, wherever and whenever. Today, however, we may miss God’s will, if we are not listening to His voice. As with the remote, you may miss His will if you are not close to the Lord.
So, how do we stay close to God? You already know how: read His word daily, speak to Him regularly, obey His commands, and share His gospel. Just as with the children of Israel, God told us how to seek His will. You will not hear from Him if you are not often in His house. Hebrews 10:25 reminds us, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (KJV).
Israel watched the manifestation of the presence of God for His leadership. He made it simple: the pillar moves, you move. God still makes it simple. As the great 19th century preacher, Charles Hadden Spurgeon said, “God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”
Henson is pastor of Hopewell Church, Lake.