08/12/2023
When the Israelites fled Egypt, God provided them with a cloud to protect them from the heat during the day and a pillar of fire to keep them warm and provide light at night. (Exodus 13:21) When Moses built the tabernacle according to God's request, "Then the cloud covered the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the Lord was filled with glory." (Exodus 40:34). In all the journeys of the children of Israel, whenever a cloud rose above the tabernacle, they would depart. But if the clouds did not arise, they did not appear until the day they arose. Exodus 40:36 and 37
I am reading a book about the Holy Spirit and the author gave an analogy of God's cloud being the Holy Spirit, but I made my own analogy based on the verses above - while the cloud was over the tabernacle, the people stood. remained, but when it arose, they went with it: to me it resembles living within the bounds of conscience. In the desert, the Israelites were provided with food, hearth, respite and guidance through the cloud and the pillar. It was almost like the Garden of Eden, but without the lush greenery. You could say that the people were surrounded and filled with the Spirit of the Lord, but if the people chose to leave that shelter, the elements would surely do so within them, or at least, they would find their peace and their own. Will lose sanctity. We are holy only when we keep our conscience clean, as long as we walk in the cloud and wait for the cloud. Yet how do we know that we are within the Lord's cloud? Some will say that believing in God is enough, but even demons believe and tremble (James 2:19). Thus the true proof is twofold: we both believe and do good works regularly: for faith without works is dead (James 2:26). Although love is both a verb and a noun, we cannot be love unless we live in love, within love, because of love. So ultimately, the cloud was/is love.Amem 🙏❤️