Exodus 14:19-20 – Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. NIV
Exodus 14:19-20 – And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night. NKJV
Exodus 13:21-22 “And the Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from the presence of the people.
Early in my walk with the Lord I remember the sermons teaching on how the Lord God rescued Israel from the Egyptians. Of course we remember the breathtaking parting of the sea! It makes us just wonder and wow at what the power of our Lord. During that same time the Lord did another supernatural work for Israel. He was leading the Israelites with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. What a sight that must have been! A sign of the Lord’s presence with them protection upon them. Want to talk about a sign from God, wow! These are equally great miracles of God. I imagine it being night, with the dark desert skies surrounding the people of Israel, but burning bright before them was a pillar of fire, a sign from God of His love and protection for them. Oh my, how it must have thrilled their hearts!
So we all knew about this pillar of clouds and fire that lead them. Last night, just before sleep, my wife excitedly asked me if I had ever noticed how, the night before crossing the Red Sea, that the pillar had moved from the front of the people to behind the people (to keep the Egyptians from the Israelites.) She read to me from Exodus 14:19-20 how the pillar, that had been a cloud during the day and fire at night, became both, dark toward the Egyptians and light toward the Israelites. I had not noticed this before and I said to her “Wow” and she replied “I know!” We excitedly spoke about what this meant to us. Darkness was all the Egyptians, who rejected the Lord, could see. To them who rejected the knowledge of God, God did not reveal His glory, but they were in the dark. But to His people, the majesty of God shone brightly on His people and they beheld a sign of His might and His compassion. Consider the different views the Egyptians and the Israelites had. How different their understanding as a result of yielding or not yielding to God as God.
Today in our times the people who reject Jesus as Savior and Lord, especially those who claim to know and understand God, do not realize that they have not been blessed to gaze upon the blazing glory of God but rather only see the dark cloud that reveals little. It is because of their hard heart. They could see and understand the blazing glory of God should they come to God through Jesus. But no-one understands the Word until they do. How sad to try to peer into the Bible but not understand. Only softened humble hearts will come to understand. Only those with the Holy Spirit, those who are submitted to Jesus, can understand. (1 Corinthians 2:14-16) Those who reject, or hate us who believe do so because they see the difference between us and them and they know the difference is Jesus. They will not agree with us and may even hate us. (John 15:18-19) Yet there is hope for the lost and the Lord God knows who are His, not yet with Him, but who will come. We must pray for and share our Lord with everyone, because though the Lord knows who belongs to Him, even though they are in the enemies camp now, we do not. So we search for our brothers and sisters to be and long to assist them to the bright side of the pillar, where they belong. Let us not be smug, but love all people, that Jesus may be glorified by the rescuing of the missing ones. Being on the dark side is a sad thing, but being on the light side is a wondrous place to be. Let us be what Jesus has called us to be, tellers of Jesus’ story. We do it to honor the Lord and save our future Brothers and Sisters, whom we love, if our hearts are right. We do because we have been commanded and because we love Jesus. For the hard hearts who will never trust in Jesus, they will never know either Him or the Father. But to us who submit and love the Lord, we know Him and understand His Word. Things on opposites of the pillar are not the same. Let’s praise our God that He has called us to the side of light and understanding. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.