Numbers 9: 1 – 23
Just follow the cloud
9 Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying: 2 “Let the children of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. 3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time. According to all its rites and ceremonies you shall keep it.” 4 So Moses told the children of Israel that they should keep the Passover. 5 And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, at twilight, in the Wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did. 6 Now there were certain men who were defiled by a human corpse, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day; and they came before Moses and Aaron that day. 7 And those men said to him, “We became defiled by a human corpse. Why are we kept from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the children of Israel?” 8 And Moses said to them, “Stand still, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.” 9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If anyone of you or your posterity is unclean because of a corpse, or is far away on a journey, he may still keep the Lord’s Passover. 11 On the fourteenth day of the second month, at twilight, they may keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones. According to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it. 13 But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and ceases to keep the Passover, that same person shall be cut off from among his people, because he did not bring the offering of the Lord at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin. 14 ‘And if a stranger dwells among you, and would keep the Lord’s Passover, he must do so according to the rite of the Passover and according to its ceremony; you shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger and the native of the land.’ ” 15 Now on the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony; from evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire. 16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. 17 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents. 18 At the command of the Lord the children of Israel would journey, and at the command of the Lord they would camp; as long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle they remained encamped. 19 Even when the cloud continued long, many days above the tabernacle, the children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord and did not journey. 20 So it was, when the cloud was above the tabernacle a few days: according to the command of the Lord they would remain encamped, and according to the command of the Lord they would journey. 21 So it was, when the cloud remained only from evening until morning: when the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they would journey; whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud was taken up, they would journey. 22 Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey. 23 At the command of the Lord they remained encamped, and at the command of the Lord they journeyed; they kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
What is the longest you have ever lived in one place? If it’s more than five years, you’re above the national average. One out of five Americans moves every year. We are a transient nation. Our frequent moving has fragmented the extended family. A few years ago a survey of American undergraduate students revealed that three-fourths of them could not give the first and last names of all four of their grandparents.
Sometimes I’ve been surprised at how quickly American Christians will move their families from one location to another without much thought or prayer. There are always reasons--they got a better job offer, they like the area, they want to get away from the crowded city and the crime, they want a better place to raise kids, etc. Some of those factors are worth considering, of course. But at times it seems that Christians hardly consider the Lord and His purpose. The local church and the ministry in a particular church ought to be important factors when considering any move. Of course there are times when God wants us to move. The question is, “How can I know whether God wants me to move or stay put?”
In the book of Genesis 46:1-30 we learn that Jacob moved his whole extended family down to Egypt. It was not an easy thing for a 130-year-old man to do! There was a famine in Canaan and his son Joseph had promised them the best of Egypt. Jacob desperately wanted to see Joseph, whom for 22 years, he had thought was dead. But Jacob knew that his grandfather, Abraham, had gotten into trouble in Egypt. God had forbidden his father, Isaac, to go there during another famine as chapter 26:2 indicates. Jacob knew that God’s promise involved Canaan, not Egypt. So he stopped in Beersheba to seek the Lord and did not move on to Egypt until the Lord gave him a green light. One of the main reasons our Holy Spirit included this section was to show how this move out of the Promised Land fit in with the covenant plan of God. This story gives us some factors to consider when we are faced with a move:
So I see three things to do in order to be sure this is what our Holy God wants us to do;
1. When considering a move, seek the Lord and His perspective above all else.
It’s important to understand that we can never know the will of God unless we are growing to know God Himself and we have yielded ourselves totally to Him. That’s what Paul says in Romans 12:1-2, that by presenting our bodies to God as a living and holy sacrifice we will prove what the will of God is.
It’s easy to get excited about a move. Maybe life has been a bit boring and a move is an adventure. That’s U-Haul’s motto, “Adventure in Moving.” If you’ve ever driven a U-Haul, you know what that means! Maybe you’re tired of your problems in a job or locale and you’re ready to trade them in for a new situation. Maybe the move means more money, a greater challenge at work, a bigger home, a more desirable place to live. But if God isn’t in it, don’t do it! Put the brakes on your excitement long enough to yield yourself fully to Him, to seek Him, and to pray.
What you need, above all else, is to be sensitive to and to hear from the living God. By “hearing from God,” I do not mean an audible voice. God does that so rarely that you should not expect it. I’m bothered by people who go around saying, “The Lord told me.” You also need to be cautious about subjective impressions. It’s easy to be mistaken. But if you are walking closely with the Lord, if you seek godly counsel, and if you apply the wisdom from God’s Word in prayerful dependence on His Spirit, He will often give you a strong inner sense of whether a move is from Him or not. I have also found fasting to be helpful as I consider a major decision. I admit that the process is a bit subjective. But knowing the will of God is always connected with knowing God. So I must seek not only God’s will, but God Himself. Put a brake on your emotions and seek the Lord Himself.
There was a guy in our church who was a Philly cop. He hated his job and was looking to do something else. Somehow he heard some missionaries speak at church and decided this is what he is going to do. He quit the police force, sold all his possessions and moved his family to Africa. He went around passing out flyers that they were going to be ‘long time missionaries’. In truth he never went on a mission trip. I advised him that he should go on one and see how he would like to commit his family and himself to before going for the gusto. He refused my counsel. They ultimately did go to Africa. It was so hard on them that they only lasted two months there. He came back and was so embarrassed for failing that they would not rejoin his church family here so they started going to another church so he would not run into anyone he knew.
2. Put thought into God’s purposes and obey His leading.
God’s way of working is to call individuals to Him, just as He called Abraham. Through those individuals, He calls families, and through those families, nations are called to obedience to the Savior. God’s plan is to bless all nations through the seed of Abraham.
One of our major blind spots as American Christians is our individualistic approach to the Christian life. I’m not suggesting that we do not need an individual relationship with God. Of course we do! But we have made Christianity so personal that we have lost the sense of belonging to the church as God’s covenant people, His extended family, just as Israel was His people. Because we don’t know church history, we don’t have a sense of continuity with those who have gone before us. We join and leave a church according to our personal likes and dislikes. So many people attend a church for years, yet hardly know the others who attend. This lack of belonging makes us vulnerable to the enemy.
The way this applies to us in considering a move is that we never ought to make a move without considering our relationships with the family of God. If our identity is really bound up with this family of God in this locale, then to sever that connection by moving somewhere else ought to be done only after the most careful, prayerful consideration. Why does God want me to move from this expression of His family to another? Is there a solid Christian church in the new community where my family and I can grow and serve? If not, is God calling me to help establish such? If not, why am I going there? If it’s just for a better job or lifestyle, am I really seeking first God’s kingdom and righteousness? God’s purpose through His church ought to be at the heart of any decision to move, whether you’re in “full time” ministry or not.
What God promises and purposes to do, He does, even though from our perspective it takes a long time. Our lifetimes are too short to measure God’s purpose. Our task is to understand God’s missionary purpose for the world (to bless all nations through Abraham’s seed and to devote our lives to seeing that purpose brought about, even if it seems as if God is slow about His promises ( 2 Pet. 3:3-13).
Which people does He want you to reach? So many Christians want to move to get away from people. Why do that when God’s purpose is to use us to reach them with the gospel?
3. Put a premium on family relationships and enjoy God’s blessings.
Real joy in life comes through relationships, not through where you live or what you own. God has given us the family as the primary place to nurture those relationships. You can climb to the top of your career, even a “Christian career,” and have all the goodies that go along with success. But if you neglect your family to get there, you’ll come up empty.
One of the sad things I’ve learned is that some of the great men of God neglected their families in order to pursue their ministries. Of course, they didn’t have jets to take them across oceans in a matter of hours. They believed that they were obeying Christ’s words about not loving family members above Him. I’m not questioning their motives or love for Christ. But the bottom line is, they would be gone from their families for months, in some cases years, at a time. In many cases, their families suffered because of it.
That bothers me. If God has called me to have a family, then He wants my family life to be a priority. That’s a qualification for being a church leader. If He has also called me to be an itinerant missionary, then I’d better take my family with me as much as possible. Children often think that an absent father has rejected them, no matter how much he may love them. There is no way you can make up for not being there those few short years your kids are growing up. I don’t view being gone from your family for great periods of time as a sacrifice for the Lord. I view it as a neglect of a man’s primary responsibility of modeling his faith in his home.
So before you make a move, ask yourself, “How will this affect my family relationships?” Will it give me more time to be with my family, to teach them the Lord’s ways, to model before them what it means to walk with God? Will it give us as a family a better platform to serve the Lord together? Or will it simply foster my career at the expense of my family relationships?
What I’ve been saying to you is, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). When considering a move, put God and His purposes first. That will bring everything else--your family, your ministry, your career--into proper focus.
We are going to learn about when to move or stay put from our Great and Holy God Yahweh. In a way He Is going to make it easy for the Israelites. With all the issues they have to deal with moving wasn’t going to be a concern for them. He Is letting them know when it is time to move or stay put, don’t worry about it. If you see the cloud move then follow it.’
The first five verses are not to be seen as simply an introduction. They solemnly go through the call to keep the Passover, then move on to the message passed on by Moses, and finally to the full response of the people in keeping the Passover. By this they would again partake afresh in Yahweh’s deliverance. One purpose of what follows is precisely to bring out what a wonderful thing those people who did not keep the Passover had been missing out on. Clearly He saw partaking in this feast as an essential part of the bond between Himself and His people and sought to make it open as widely as possible within the covenant. It was the fourth aspect of His response to His people.
Another purpose for verses 6-14 is in bringing out how important Yahweh saw it to be. It was important that none should miss the Passover. It was so important that it was the only feast for which a second opportunity was given, and to miss it deliberately would therefore result in being cut off from the covenant.
9 Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying: 2 “Let the children of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time.
The Passover was to be observed on 14th-15th of Abib (Nisan) which was the first month of the year at this time. Thus in that first month, one year after leaving Egypt, Yahweh called on Israel to ensure that they properly kept the Passover.
3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time. According to all its rites and ceremonies you shall keep it.” 4 So Moses told the children of Israel that they should keep the Passover.
So Moses gave the command to the children of Israel that they should keep the Passover, as Yahweh had laid down from the beginning
5 And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month, at twilight, in the Wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did.
The result was that they kept the Passover on the 14th day of the first month of the second year at evening, in the wilderness of Sinai. And they kept it in accordance with all that Yahweh had commanded Moses There must have been a huge feeling of exultation among those who kept this first Passover after leaving Egypt. It could hardly fail to bring home vividly to all the people a reminder of the wonder of their deliverance. At this time there must have been full confidence for the future as they remembered how Yahweh had so amazingly acted for them and had delivered them, both on that night and in subsequent events. They would really feel at that moment that they were truly the people of God. And they would emerge from it even more determined to serve Yahweh fully.
There were those who were unable to take part in the Passover because they were unclean with an uncleanness that lasted seven days. In this case it was because they had had contact with the dead. They were clearly very upset that they had missed out on it and sought a remedy.
6 Now there were certain men who were defiled by a human corpse, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day; and they came before Moses and Aaron that day. 7 And those men said to him, “We became defiled by a human corpse. Why are we kept from presenting the offering of the Lord at its appointed time among the children of Israel?”
In this particular case there were men who were at the time ‘unclean’ because they had come in contact with a dead body and were therefore unclean for seven days. Thus they had been unable to take part in the observing of the Passover. This upset them greatly and they approached Moses and Aaron about it on that very day of the offering of the Passover lambs. They wanted to know why they should be restricted so that they could not take part in the observance of the Passover over what to them did not seem a very serious matter. Why was it that something which was not their fault should prevent them partaking in the Passover? Their attitude and their urgency emphasizes the blessing that the people who were able to keep the Passover enjoyed.
8 And Moses said to them, “Stand still, that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you.”
Moses was sympathetic to their request and asked them to wait while he consulted Yahweh.
9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If anyone of you or your posterity is unclean because of a corpse, or is far away on a journey, he may still keep the Lord’s Passover.
Our Great and Merciful Yahweh responded that they would be enabled to keep the Passover. He first expanded on the problem. In future men may be unclean through contact with the dead or may be on a distant journey, and thus be unable to observe the Passover. Well, they were not to be too concerned. They would certainly be privileged to still keep the Passover.
11 On the fourteenth day of the second month, at twilight, they may keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones. According to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it.
The way in which this would be achieved was by having a special Passover on the 14th day of the second month for all those who had missed the one on the 14th day of the first month through no fault of their own.
13 But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and ceases to keep the Passover, that same person shall be cut off from among his people, because he did not bring the offering of the Lord at its appointed time; that man shall bear his sin.
However that was not to be made an excuse for someone who was clean not to keep the original Passover. Anyone eligible who did not keep the original Passover would be cut off from among the people. Yahweh would know and would see to it. And the reason for this would be that he had not offered a gift that he was obliged by Yahweh to make at the appointed time. He would have deliberately rebelled highhandedly against Yahweh.
14 ‘And if a stranger dwells among you, and would keep the Lord’s Passover, he must do so according to the rite of the Passover and according to its ceremony; you shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger and the native of the land.’ ”
All this was being said in preparation for that great future when they would be in the land. Then if a resident alien lived among them he also could keep the Passover in accordance with Passover requirements, one of which was that he enters the covenant and be circumcised as a ‘true’ Israelite (Exodus 12.48-49). As stated in Exodus the same principles would apply to all, whether born in the land or resident alien seeking Yahweh.
This emphasis on ‘the land’ was all part of the preparation for their moving off on what at that time Moses thought would be a short journey to the land. The expectancy was that they would soon be living there, and these references were intended to bolster that expectancy. There was no thought of the delay that would occur through their unbelief. As far as Moses was concerned it was just round the corner.
For us the significance of the Passover is tied up with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He Is our Passover Who Was sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5.7). He Is The Precious and Unblemished Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world (John 1.29). We are therefore to rid ourselves of the leaven of wickedness and malice. And we must ensure that we partake of Him as the unblemished offering fully and truly, for to fail to do so will mean that we too will be ‘cut off’ (1 Corinthians 11.27, 30).
Back in the book of Exodus chapter 13 verse 22 we are told that ‘Yahweh went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light that they might go by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, departed not from before the people.’
When the cloud was taken up from over the Tabernacle the children of Israel went onwards throughout all their journeys. If the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey until the day that it was taken up (Exodus 30 35-37). ‘And the cloud of Yahweh was on the Tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys’ (Exodus 40.38).
The principles would now be laid down by which the march forward was to be regulated. Firstly would be the divine signals through the cloud and the fire. Then it would be followed by the human signals through the silver trumpets.
15 Now on the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony; from evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire.
From the very day that the Tabernacle was set up the cloud covered it by day, demonstrating the earthly presence of Yahweh among His people. And when night came there appeared on it the appearance of fire. They were a continual reminder of Sinai.
16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.
This was how it always was. The cloud covered it, and by night there was the appearance of fire. This cloud and fire had been with them from the original deliverance at the Red Sea (see Exodus 13.21-22).
17 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents.
By means of the cloud Yahweh determined when they should journey. When the cloud arose from the Tabernacle then they journeyed forward. And when the cloud again settled down there they made their camp, and set up the Tabernacle.
18 At the command of the Lord the children of Israel would journey, and at the command of the Lord they would camp; as long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle they remained encamped.
So the cloud was under Yahweh’s control, and it was at the command of Yahweh that they journeyed, and at the command of Yahweh that they camped. And as long as the cloud abode on the Tabernacle they remained encamped.
19 Even when the cloud continued long, many days above the tabernacle, the children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord and did not journey.
In obedience to Yahweh God when the cloud remained abiding on the Tabernacle for many days, they stayed put. Thus it was always Yahweh’s will that they obeyed as He kept watch over them. They responded to His ‘watch’.
20 So it was, when the cloud was above the tabernacle a few days: according to the command of the Lord they would remain encamped, and according to the command of the Lord they would journey.
Sometimes the cloud remained on the Tabernacle for a few days. Then, as Yahweh was commanding by this, they remained encamped. But as soon as Yahweh commanded otherwise they moved forward.
21 So it was, when the cloud remained only from evening until morning: when the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they would journey; whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud was taken up, they would journey.
When the cloud indicated that they should move they did so, whether it was by day or by night. Sometimes the cloud remained settled during the night, and when it was taken up in the morning they journeyed, but whether it was by day or by night, when it was taken up they journeyed.
22 Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey.
Their journeying was completely at the behest of Yahweh. When the cloud tarried on the Tabernacle for two days, or a moon period, or a long time, dwelling on it, they remained encamped, and when it was take up they journeyed.
23 At the command of the Lord they remained encamped, and at the command of the Lord they journeyed; they kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
They did all at the command of Yahweh. At His command they encamped. At His command they journeyed. They obeyed His command; they kept His charge according to His watch over them. It was all at the command of Yahweh by Moses.
The overall emphasis of this passage is clear. They were aware that Yahweh kept watch over them. They journeyed only at His command. At His command they remained where they were. And it was all indicated through the cloud, through which Yahweh revealed His personal will and guardianship.
For us there is no cloud to guide. But we have before us the unveiled glory of The Son of God our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3.1-4.6). He leads us through His Spirit (Romans 8.14) and through His word. The cloud has been replaced by The Holy Spirit Who dwells in all God’s children and the revelation of the glory of Christ Jesus to us through His Word, and as a result of all these blessings we know and understand His presence is just as surely with us as it was with them.
