Numbers 9:22: “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.”

January 19th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

This phrase “the cloud remained” is repeated again and again throughout the book of Numbers; first because it was a supernatural miracle that deserved repeating, and second, to catch our attention. The cloud would remain, or stand still, when God wanted His people to also remain still.

Perhaps this catches our eye because most of us find it easier to do a job or activity, than to wait on God. The cloud moving or stopping was God’s method of speaking in a very clear and unmistakable way. No one could miss His message. And it would be particularly clear in a desert environment when sunshine suddenly started beating on a black-goat-hair tent. It would definitely get the attention of everyone inside. And it would be equally clear when the cool shade from the cloud came over them. Then they would know that God was leading them to stop and rest. The concept of rest was already plainly built into the structure of the week. At the end of each and every week, a Sabbath day of rest caused the cadence of the week to stop, and the people of God would take time out to rest. So it is safe to assume then, that at a very minimum, one day out of seven the Pillar of Cloud would stand still.

For most of us, it is during a time of quiet rest that we most clearly hear God’s voice. No doubt that is why the Holy Spirit said through the Psalmist to “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). How we need to hear His voice every day. How we need to set aside time to sit quietly before the Creator of the Universe so we can distinguish His voice from the clamor of all the other voices calling out to us. Years ago we heard Alan Redpath, the evangelist, warn us about resisting the “tyranny of the urgent.” The urgent is often a good thing but not the best thing. Too often we choose the good over the best and allow it to take over our lives. Perhaps the emptiest lives are those that are stuffed with daily activity from sunup to sundown. When the Pillar of Cloud stands still, we need to focus our attention entirely on the Lord.

“‘Word of God speak,’ the song writer cries. Please do, LORD.”