NO CLOUD NO JOURNEY
TEXT: EXODUS 40:34-38
Introduction:
I must give a tip of the hat Eddie Bowling, a preacher-friend of mine, who I haven’t seen for years. It must have been at least 35 years ago that Eddie and I were talking as preachers do, about preaching, and he said, I’ve got this great title: “No Cloud No Journey.” That’s it, just the title. I never heard him preach it and don’t know if he ever worked it up into a message, but that title has stuck with me all these years, and the Lord finally gave me the liberty to make it into a message.
God said earlier to Moses, “Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst “(Ex.25:8). The setting of our text by chapter 40 of Exodus is this: the Israelites had constructed the Tabernacle that contained the Ark of the Covenant and the other holy artifacts God instructed Moses to have made for His worship, and Moses had anointed everything with blood and oil, according to the Lord’s orders. This occurred approximately one year after they left Egypt in the great Exodus after God had sent the Destroyer Angel through the land of Egypt and killed the firstborn of every Egyptian household, sparing the Israelites.
Our text tells us a cloud, representing the glory of the Lord rested over the Tabernacle. The Israelites broke camp and went ahead in their journey ONLY when God lifted the cloud. “And when the cloud was taken up, then they journeyed, not till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud 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.” Hence the title of my message: “No Cloud, No Journey.” Let’s look at clouds.
I. A CLOUD: FIRST MENTION AND SIGNIFICANCE
A. The first mention of a cloud concerning the working and will of God is in Gen. 9:13-15. After the great flood, God spoke to Noah and established a covenant – a contractual agreement, that He would never again destroy the earth by water. The sign of His covenant would be that He would put a rainbow in the sky in the cloud (vs 13) for a sign between Himself and the earth, and that sign continues to this day. When we see a rainbow in the clouds it reminds us of God’s promise.
B. Covenant in the Hebrew is “ber-eeth,’” and means, “an alliance or pledge; a divine ordinance with signs.” Every major covenant that God makes has a physical sign. Like the rainbow, Abraham’s covenant sign is circumcision; Israel’s covenant is the keeping of the Sabbath. The sign is a visible assurance that God keeps His promise and acts on behalf of His people.
C. The cloud that led the Israelites in the wilderness is first mentioned in Ex. 13, beginning right after they left Egypt. “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people” (Ex. 13:21-22).
D. This same pillar of cloud moved from in front of them to behind them at the crossing of the Red Sea, to block Pharaoh’s army from being able to get to them and allowed them time to cross the sea after Moses parted it with His rod. We’re told it gave light to the Israelites all night and enveloped the Egyptian Army in darkness (Ex. 14:20).
E. The Zondervan Bible Commentary said about this divine phenomenon: “The side of the cloud that faced the Egyptian army brought darkness, but the opposite side, facing the rear of the Hebrew camp, shone brightly, enabling the Hebrews to keep traveling all through the night. This allowed the Hebrews time to escape—time for two million men, women, children, and their animals to cross the pathway through the Red Sea.”
F. It is also interesting to note that the angel of God is associated with this cloud. This “angel of God,” is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Second Person of the Trinity. God the Son Himself was with them all the time.
G. In Numbers 9:22, we read, “Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey.”
H. No Cloud No Journey.
II. THE LORD AND HIS GLORY ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE CLOUD
A. As the Israelites looked, we’re told, “…the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud” (Ex.16:10).
B. Beginning with Exodus 19:1, when the Israelites arrived at Mt. Sinai, Moses makes 8 trips up and down Mt. Sinai, some alone, and others with Aaron, with Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 elders, and with Joshua. The first time was to receive instruction from God, another time, was to receive the Ten Commandments, which he broke when the Israelites made the golden calf to worship, and the last time to receive the tablets of stone again, with the same Ten Commandments. And each time, the glory of the Lord is there in a cloud.
C. In Exodus 19:9, we learn that the Lord told Moses, “…Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you and believe you forever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord.”
D. So, the cloud was a sign by the Lord, signifying that He was there in His glory, and could be seen by the people. From Ex. 19:16 to Ex. 24:18 there are 4 mentions of the cloud covering Mt. Sinai.
E. Beginning in Ex. 33:9 the “Pillar of Cloud” begins to be mentioned again and will be associated with the Tabernacle. We read, “…the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the Tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses” (Ex. 33:1). “Pillar” is from the Hebrew “am-mood,’ “an upright column of smoke.”
F. “…the people saw the cloudy pillar…and worshipped” (33:10). “And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him (Moses) there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord” (34:5). We’re told in Ex. 40:34 that when the cloud covered the Tent of the Tabernacle, “the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”
G. We read in Ex. 40:35 that the glory of the Lord in the cloud became so strong that Moses was not even able to enter into the Tabernacle.
H. In Lev. 16:2, God said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat, which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.” So, God in His glory appears in the form of a cloud above the mercy seat.
I. All through the OT, the Lord appears in His glory in a cloud. When King Solomon brought the ark of the covenant and the other holy items from the Tabernacle up to Jerusalem for eventual placement in the Temple Solomon would build, we read in I Kings 8:10-11:
J. “And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.”
K. I’ll make just one more mention. In Isa. 6:1 the prophet went into the Temple. He saw “…the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up…” The KJV says that the Lord’s train filled the Temple.
L. The six-winged angels called, “Seraphim” appeared, crying “Holy, Holy, Holy. They used two wings to cover their face, two to cover their feet, and two were used to fly. And we’re told that the Temple was “…filled with smoke.”
M. The train is likened to the “trailing glory” that God showed Moses when He hid him in rock. Moses asked God to let him see His glory, and God said he would hide Moses in the cleft of a rock and cover him with His hand. As He passed by, God would remove His hand so Moses could see a brief glimpse of God’s trailing Glory.
N. This brings to mind the woman with the issue of blood, who was healed simply by touching the hem of Jesus’ robe, and His power flowed out to her.
O. So, we see that the cloud and pillar of cloud are associated not only with setting the time of travel for God’s people – that they would not journey until the cloud moved, but it is also associated with the power, presence, and glory of the Lord.
III. CLOUDS AND THE COMING OF THE LORD
A. In the NT clouds continue to be associated with the glory of the Lord and with travel and movement. This truth is introduced by Jesus, and He now connects it with His second coming. In Matt. 24:30, when His disciples ask Him what the signs of His return will be, He says He will come back to the earth “in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
B. He is not referring to the clouds above us up in the sky, because He says, these are clouds of “heaven.” Mark also repeats this same statement of Jesus twice in his gospel, in chapters 13 and 14.
C. In the Revelation given to John by Jesus, we read, “Behold, He cometh with clouds and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen” (Rev. 1:7).
D. In this Jesus is referencing the Prophet, Daniel. In Dan. 7 Daniel had a dream and visions from the Lord. One of the visions is associated with the Lord coming back to earth as the righteous judge.
E. Daniel wrote, “I saw in the night, visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him” (vs 13).
F. John MacArthur comments on Rev. 1:7 and says, “This echoes the promise of Daniel: The Son of Man will come with the clouds of heaven—not ordinary clouds but clouds of glory. In the OT, God often manifested Himself in an energized, blazing light, called the Shekinah or glory cloud. No one could see it fully and live (Ex. 33:20), so it had to be veiled. But when Christ returns, the glory will be completely visible.”
G. So, here again, in the NT in the words of Jesus, as it is throughout the Bible, clouds are a sign from the Lord, representing His promise, His glory, and His visible presence, and are also associated with movement and travel, and especially regarding the return of Jesus.
Closing:
After Jesus paid for the sins of sinful mankind by shedding His holy blood and dying on the cross of Calvary, He rose from the grave, never having to die again. He spent 40 days on the earth, ministering to His disciples, being seen on one occasion by upwards of 500 people at one time. He had told His followers before His passion that He would not leave them alone. John’s Gospel records these beautiful words of Jesus: “Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).
Luke records for us also the last words Jesus said to His disciples in the Book of Acts. Jesus commanded them to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Holy Spirit. They asked Him if that would be the time that He would restore the kingdom to Israel. He said, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in His own power. But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” After He finished saying these things, the scripture says that as they were looking at Him, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:7-9).
The Bible then tells us that as the disciples were looking up into the sky, two angels appeared and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Jesus is coming back just as He said, and just as the angels said. He is coming in the clouds. When He was on trial before the High Priest and Sanhedrin, the High Priest asked Him if He claimed to be the Christ, the Son of God? Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt. 26:64). Again, heavenly clouds.
I’ve been following Dr. John Barnett at Discover the Book Ministries quite a bit of late. He has this to say about the soon coming of the Lord: “Each of the signs of Christ’s Return” he said, “are trends. These trends are speeding up, and the last seconds of the countdown clock of Christ’s return are clicking down. Each day the prophetic picture Christ painted grows clearer. Each of these signs were captured by the apostles and prophets between 2,000 and 3,500 years ago. Now they are happening in our lifetime! But, in all of history ONLY our generation has seen EVERY ONE of these events starting to unfold.”
He goes on to point out that we are the only generation in which ALL the things are taking place at the same time that Jesus said would be happening before His return. He pointed out that none of these were possible on a worldwide basis until our generation.
Here is Barrett’s list of signposts: 1) Global travel has exploded in the last 100 years; 2) the global explosion of knowledge; 3) weather has “gone wild globally; 4) global instant communications; 5) global evangelism; 6) global pestilences and plagues; 7) the return of the Jews to Israel from all over the globe and the regaining Jerusalem as their capital.
There’s one more I’d like to add: the global rise of the antichrist system. After His disciples asked Him how they would know His coming was soon, the very first thing Jesus said was this: “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” (Matt. 24:4-5). Those who do not know Christ as Lord will be deceived by the antichrist. But thanks be to God in John chapter 10 that Jesus said He was the true shepherd. He said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one” (John 10:27-30).
Just as the Israelites only journeyed if the cloud moved and did not journey if the cloud did not move, it will be the same for us. Paul writes to the Thessalonians that when Jesus comes back to resurrect the bodies of Christians who died and to catch up the living Christians, we “…shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” No Cloud, No Journey!
