Fire and Cloud

"He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light in the night." Psalm 105:39

I'm sure you've heard the classic Sunday School story of God leading the children of Israel through the desert as a cloud during the day and fire at night. It's a wonderful, amazing story, but it's more than just a story. We can learn something about the character of God from this. he is a caring Father. He not only led His people as they walked through the desert, He provided for their comfort as well.

Think about a desert. Hot. Dusty. Dry. Little vegetation. Now, imagine a huge cloud overhead. It would block the sun and provide shade for the people. It would cover them from the harshness of their surroundings.

Have you ever been camping or outdoors and away from city lights on a moonless night? It's really dark and you need a flashlight so you can walk without stumbling into something or getting lost. That's what it was like for the children of Israel, but they didn't have flashlights. They had God in the form of fire. He provided light for them during the night. They probably even traveled at night sometimes because it was cooler and because God was leading and lighting their path with His fire to the promised land.

There's even more to it than that though. The whole Bible is about Jesus, Old Testament and New, and if you let the Spirit open your eyes, you'll see it, for the Holy Spirit always testifies of Jesus.

The fire and the cloud is a beautiful picture of our caring Father, but it is also a foreshadowing of what He would do in the future. The Father sent His Son to be a covering for us. Not as a cloud from the heat of the day, but as a sacrifice to cover our sin with His blood. Jesus is to us the Light of the world, sent to lead man out of darkness and back to God. He will continue leading us our of the wilderness of sin to our promised land, not the territory of Canaan, but life everlasting.