The Gospel According to Moses DAILY DEVOTIONAL READINGS BY KIM HARRINGTON Week VIII Day 53: A Fearful Cloud of Judgment Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam...But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold Miriam was leprous, as white as snow... Numbers 12:5,10 The cloud not only brings guidance, direction and protection, it sometimes brings judgment. On several occasions when the cloud appeared, it was not necessarily the most pleasant of outcomes for some of the people involved. The same cloud that protected the Israelites their first night at the Red Sea put confusion and dread in the hearts of their Egyptian pursuers and caused their chariot wheels to stick and swerve. In Isaiah 19:1 the cloud is sent to Egypt once again, after several hundred years, and the result again was judgment. When the cloud of God settled upon Mt. Sinai in Exodus chapter nineteen it was more fearful than comforting. God in His glory is awesome indeed, and only the foolish who have no concept at all of Him are without the fear of Him. So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightening flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled... Now Mt. Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently, (Ex.19:16,18). What to one may be the joyous appearance of the Lord’s cloud of guidance and protection, may to another be fear and judgment. Even the children of God have reason to fear the cloud, to the degree that they are not walking in purity before Him. Aaron and Miriam in the text above were not too excited to see the cloud when they were resisting the Lord and His servant Moses. Any believer who’s walking in self will and rebellion has reason to fear the cloud of the Lord’s presence. It’s easy to say you are submitted to God when He’s a million miles away in heaven, but you can’t fool yourself and others so easily when He’s standing before you in an awesome cloud of glory. That’s why the Israelites were so afraid at Sinai—they hadn’t disobeyed yet, but their hearts were, for the most part, far from Him; and they felt uncomfortable having Him so close. That’s why some Christians change churches often, or choose churches that they can hide in. They like the idea of God, but they don’t want Him or anyone else to get very close and expose their carnal hearts. How close do you want the Shekinah to come? What will the bright light of His glory reveal about your heart? Are you keeping things from Him? Is your confidence in the Lord based on an honest and heart-searching relationship with Him, or do you rely to heavily on an exaggerated concept of His grace, winking on sin and rebellion in your life, being sure that He must do the same? Don’t get too close or your ideas may go up in smoke. On the other hand, that’s exactly what you may need to do—get close enough to Him to really see who He is, and get right with Him on His terms: believe in Jesus, walk in purity before Him, cleanse your heart and mind by the blood of Christ and the power of the Spirit. Then when that cloud comes for you, you may still be trembling a little in awe, but your heart will also be filled with the confidence that you are truly ready to meet God.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 12:48:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015