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Exodus 40 - 33 to 38 "And he reared up the court round abou the tabernacle altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.
Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle.
And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon,
and the glory of God filled the tabernacle.
And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward with all their journeys
But, if the cloud weren't taken up, then they journeyed not till the day it was taken up
For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night
in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
It's a beautiful symbol of "Divine Presence".
The Pillar of Cloud and Fire mentioned in this passage is a supernatural event that occurred in the history of Israel
Such a thing had never happened in the history of mankind, in the history of this Earth
Actually, I had a different topic for our study in my mind,
But, today morning while praying, God drew my attention towards this topic.
God provided His grace for me to understand it.
I was thinking, we might have seen a picture of this Pillar of Cloud and Fire.
But, often after seeing this picture, we don't understand its gravity/ seriousness.
So i tried thinking from another point of view.
I thought from this point of view, There were 0.6 million men in Israel's population at that time.
Then there might be 0.6 million adult women too along with those 0.6 million men
So that total number of people (Israelites) wandering in the woods, would be 1.8 to 2.0 million, also considering number of children,
As number of children per family was pretty high.
Even if we assume the number to be 1.5 million,
And I was thinking, and there was a reason behind this also.
One day I was on my way for work, and around 12 noon, I could feel the sun, burning my skin.
That when I thought, see how God leads us practically to understand His word.
Taking Israel nation through the woods wasn't an easy task, as the sun was beating down and they would have died there
When we travel, we always look for a place where we can find shelter, rest for sometime and again resume our journey
But, now imagine, these people didn't have any shelter whatsoever.
Trees there were insufficient to provide shelter to 1.5 - 2.0 million people. Just imagine how could one provide shelter to so many people
There were no buildings there, no shades, no ST stands, no railway stations either.
And in that scorching sun and hot climate, there had to be such an arrangement that could provide shelter to 1.5 million people.
Now the point to notice here is that how big a shed would be required to provide shelter for 1.5 to 2 million people
But, God according to His great power and wisdom had planned something. What did He do?
He built a shed out of clouds in the sky. Praise the Lord
In this manner He built a shed for Israelites in the sky, which protected them from the scorching sun.
Imagine how huge it might have been, to provide shelter for 1.5 million people
When we go for an exhibition, we see sheds that are built there for visitors.
It usually is sufficient for 2000 to 5000 people. And still that time we feel it is too big and look at it with awe.
The speciality of this Pillar of Cloud which was a supernatural cloud was that it would provide shade during day time
And the same Pillar of cloud, I purposely checked it again, I thought that it might be 2 entities..
Cause, we use 2 names here, so they might be 2 entities. But, they aren't 2 entities, this is 1 entity.
And its proof is seen in Exodus 40: 33-38, we read it just now.
Exodus 40:38 " For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night,
Did you notice it here, It was cloud by day and it was pillar of fire by night.
Now, think in this way, this light had to reach homes of 1.5 to 2 million people and that much luminescence was coming out of it
Just imagine the amount of luminescence that was coming out of that pillar of fire.
Just now, while coming in this room, I saw this light.
The light is on that side, and this side is a bit dark, so I went there to read.
The Pillar of Fire was providing light for homes of 1.5 to 2 million Israelites.
And that too this light was such that these people did not experience and heat from it.
It means that this light was cool in nature.
This light was special, this was really a supernatural sign.
Nothing else. Such a thing had never happened on Earth till then.
When you picturise 1.5 to 2 million people, it was like this picture.
Pillar of cloud came from within the most holy place of the tabernacle.
and would rise up into the sky, thus, providing shade.
The Israelite's tents surrounded the tabernacle from all side.
Thus, its location was in the centre. God had purposely fixes its location.
If it would have been in the corner, its light wouldn't reach the other side.
As this Pillar of Cloud and Fire was centrally located, all the Israel homes received its light.
When God does anything, its according to His wisdom and power.
This was a supernatural event, today afternoon I met a Pastor at my office,
we were discussing certain spiritual topics.
That time we were thinking, after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, they had to face many many troubles.
That generation of the woods would have perished before reaching Connan, if there hadn't been for God's grace and miracles
So many things one requires while travelling... there were no bakeries
there were no hotels, nor were there any grocery shops.
And if there were such a shop, how many people would it provide for?
Would it be sufficient for 1.5 million people?
God had it planned for them, He sent ready-made bread from the sky.
There were no cloth mills, God provided for that,
There was Bata company (shoe company), but God provided for that too, and we know how He did that
The point to note here is that "How God took care of the Israelites and how He was taking them ahead in their journey"
And now the question is "What did this signify?"
This cloud was for Israelites, but today what does this signify for the congregation and Church?
This pillar of cloud and fire that God made for Israelites,
its creation is a mystery.
Its formation, its origin is a mystery.
Suddenly it came into existence, may be scientist can't explain or find out its origin.
But, this thing is certain that it was mysterious.
This cloud symbolizes Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ's "Incarnation" is also a mystery
His birth on this Earth, is a mystery.
This incarnation of the Son of God, through a women's womb, is mysterious.
That which was invisible became visible.
The one who is boundless, that God coming within a human body, this itself is a miracle.
He is Omnipresent - present everywhere
He is Omnipotent - Almighty He is Omniscient - All knowing. He is Omnipresent - Present everywhere
Such a God, who is boundless, was incarnated. This was really a mysterious thing.
Through this Pillar of cloud and fire, we see a picture of the incarnation of Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, we see here that this is called a "cloud"
It is called a Pillar of Cloud.
Now these are two different things here. Cloud is not sturdy, its vapour.
Planes can fly through clouds, thus, implying that its not solid.
This attributes to one of the two properties in Jesus Christ.
He was incarnated, and lived among us as a human.
But, even if he came into this world as a human, He was God and possessed His divine powers.
Pillar signifies strength.
This divine strength and power was present in Him.
Thus these words Pillar of cloud has a sort of dual nature in them.
In the tabernacle we come across wood being covered with gold.
We see this dual picture because, divinity and humanity of Christ was merged.
Because His personality had these two natures, divinity and humanity.
He was God's son, He came into this world as a human.
Thus, it is said great is the mystery of godliness. God manifested in flesh.
God manifested in flesh, this means He was incarnated.
You tell people about Jesus Christ, they will accept it.
But, what all will they accept? He was a good person.
he was a best teacher.
His philosophies were very good. People will try their best to live according to his teachings at the mountain.
But, you ask them to accept Him as their saviour and God, no they won't accept Him.
Satan influences people to accept everything about Jesus Christ, but not His divinity
but, that is not sufficient for salvation.
Basically, if one doesn't accept His divinity, one cannot receive salvation.
The bible says, God manifested in flesh, God was incarnated.
That's the end of it, that's all. That is sufficient.
John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"
Who was word? Who was word? word was God and He was with God.
And in John 1;14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." This means that God was made flesh.
Its simple. A=B and B=C hence, A=C
now, the point I want to make is that, it's given in straight words here, and also mentioned in other places
Lord Jesus is the son of God,
In Hebrews 1:8 it is written "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom"
here the Father is speaking about the Son, thus there is a relation of God among them
but, there is only one God, there aren't 2 Gods.
The important thing here is that, this Pillar of Cloud which would become Pillar of Fire by night
Symbolizes Jesus Christ.
This Pillar of Cloud and Fire guided/helped the Israelites throughout their journey through the wilderness,
Similarly Jesus Christ guides and helps us through our journey through our lives.
This life's journey is like travelling through wilderness only. We all are travellers here.
Just like the pillar of cloud and fire guided and help the Israelites through their journey, Jesus will help us in ours.
The 1st point is - It became the evidence of personal God. This thing is very important. Evidence of Personal God.
What does that mean?
has anyone seen God? No one has ever seen God, bible says so.
No one has ever seen God.
Now, if no one has seen God, what man does is that he makes things available for himself, e.g. God's idols and pictures
Thus, it is said in Romans that man has made idols of animals and other deities as his God.
This means that man himself creates God. But, God can never be created.
This is the statement. No one can ever create God.
By definition, God is God. God is everlasting and never ending.
and if He dies, how can He be a God?
that is,people who are still in the dark, keep on creating Gods for themselves.
In the old testament God has asked us not to make idol and not to do idol worship.
Now, the one who was invisible made himself seen, visualized.
And how did He do that, He spoke to people through the Pillar of Cloud.
He showed His presence in the Pillar of Cloud.
God showed His presence in the Pillar of Cloud.
now the point to note here is that God was in the Pillar. There are proofs about it in the bible.
Exodus 14:24 "And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud"
God looked at the Egyptian army "THROUGH THE PILLAR OF FIRE AND CLOUD".
2nd evidence is in Numbers 12:5
Numbers 12:5 "And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth"
Deuteronomy 31:15 "And the LORD appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle"
Now, just as God appeared and spoke through the Cloud, similarly God appeared through Jesus Christ.
Bible says, Hebrews 1:3 "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power,
when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high"
Sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on the high.
who was this sitting on the right hand of the Majesty? It was Lord Jesus Christ.
He was a replica of His principles. He was a "replica"
God made human, just like himself, like a replica.
But, there is a difference in humans and Lord Jesus Christ.
and the difference is that "divinity is not poured in humanity"
When God created Adam, even if God made him like himself (a replica), He did not give His divinity to Adam.
Man did not receive God's divinity. After all, human being is creation, nothing else.
He is a replica of His spiritual being.
This is absent in animals.
Animals don't have a soul.
But human beings have been given a soul, that is created by God and is similar to the spirit of God.
Thus, the spirit of human has a beginning but no end.
God's spirit has no beginning and no end.
Animals don't a spirit and the other creations, plants trees have nothing.