THE PILLAR OF CLOUD.
Num_9:15-21; Exo_40:33-38.
1. What it Signified. The origin and formation of the Pillar of Cloud is a mystery. It is a type of the incarnation of the Son of God. God was in the pillar; God was in Christ (2Co_5:19). In both we see the union of weakness and power, as weak as a "cloud," as strong as a "pillar." The Man Christ Jesus. Great is the mystery of godliness. God manifest in the flesh. To those outside the pillar may seem only a column of smoke, but to those who through the atoning blood had witnessed the glory within, it was the visible presence of the Eternal God. To some Christ was "without form or comeliness;" to others He was "the Christ, the Son of the Living God" (Mat_16:16).
God in the pillar may also be a foreshadowing of Christ in the Scriptures. "They are they which testify of Me" (Joh_5:39). Sceptics may sneer at the cloudy pillar, and say, "The first desert storm will tear it to pieces, and melt it in the air." But they know not that God is in the pillar. All the storms of criticism cannot hinder the steady and stately march of the Scriptures of Truth. There is a living divine personality abiding and breathing through this holy pillar-"His Name is called The Word of God" (Rev_19:13). May we with holy reverence bow before it, and with obedient hearts follow on.
II. What it was to the Israelite. It was to them the evidence of-
1. A Personal God. The cloudy pillar was the visible evidence of the invisible God. "God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved" (Psa_46:5). Jesus Christ is to us what the pillar was to Israel, the visible expression of the invisible God (Heb_1:3). "I and My Father are one" (Joh_10:30). The glory was hid until the veil was rent-the veil of His flesh-then the glory shone forth in the coming of the Holy Ghost.
2. Of Divine Fellowship. "God spoke to them out of the cloud" (Deu_5:22). He was a sojourner with them. Wonderful condenscension! "Lo, I am with you alway" (Mat_28:20). Out of the pillar of His Word God still speaks to His people. The Holy Spirit is now the "Urim and Thummim" of every individual believer. He takes the things of Christ, and shows them to us. Our fellowship is with the Father, with the Son, and with the Holy Ghost.
3. The Pillar was also the Guarantee of Abundant Supply. While abiding with the pillar all their wants were met. Here the manna fell daily from Heaven. The waters also from the smitten rock followed the guiding pillar. "They drank of the rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ" (1Co_10:4). All the promises of God are in Him. Abide in Him, and the fulness of God will abide in you. Oh, follow Him, for lameness will bring leanness!
4. The Presence of the Pillar also Meant Protection. At the Red Sea the pillar came between the Israelites and the Egyptians (Exod. 14), delivering the one and destroying the other. How significant are the words, "The Lord looked through the pillar, and troubled the host of the Egyptians" (Exo_14:24). The Lord looked through Christ, and saved us. He still looks through Him to protect and keep us. He will also one day look through Him in judgment upon the ungodly. "He will judge the world by that Man whom He hath ordained" (Act_17:31). The coming of Christ to the Cross was the coming of the pillar between us and our great enemy sin. He came between that He might overcome the foe, and save all them that believe.
5. The Pillar was a Shelter to Israel. It was, in fact, a huge umbrella overshadowing the whole camp, with its shaft resting in the midst, upon the mercy-seat. They could truly sing, "The Lord thy shade" (Psa_121:5). The presence of Christ with the believer has a wonderful shading and comforting effect when the hot, fierce rays of adversity are falling upon us. "In the day of adversity consider" (Ecc_7:14), consider that the Lord thee keeps. The Lord is thy shade. He shelters from sin and wrath by His blood, from sadness and sorrow by His comforting Spirit. Abide under His shadow and you will have great delight.
6. The Pillar was their Source of Light. It was a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They had no light of their own. Apart from the indwelt cloud, they had no light to lighten their darkness. Christ is the Light of the world. He that followeth Me, He says, shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. What is this light? The light of the pillar was the life in the pillar. "The life was the light" (Joh_1:4). To be filled with life is to be filled with light. There is no spiritual light but from the personal life-giving One. If we are the light of the world it is because we have the life of God abiding in us. If we would shine for God, then we must live for Him.
7. The Pillar was their Guide (Num. Exo_9:18). When it moved they moved; when it rested they rested, whether it was for a day, or a month, or a year. To go without the pillar was to go without God. That meant without light, shelter, protection, or provision-without a promise. Let us ponder this. Without Christ we are out of touch with the person, the preciousness, and fulness of God. There is as much danger of losing His fellowship through lagging behind as running before. If we do not grow in grace, grace will not grow from us. Many Christians have ceased to be glad and useful because they have allowed the pillar to go out of their sight. Christ does not now fill the vision of their soul. To walk in the light is to keep in personal touch with the living God. This guide was infallible, because it was God in the pillar who guided. The Word of God is a guiding "lamp to our feet," "a sure word," wherein we do well to take heed. In this "sure word" there is the "still, small voice" of the infallible God. The books that move men as they ought to be moved are the books of the Bible. The truth here taught move men ought of darkness into light, out of death into life. Oh, thou life-giving, soul-leading pillar of power move on!
Before we speak of the court itself, let us take a look at the "pins and cords" which kept the coverings in their place, binding them to the Tabernacle and to the earth. These pins were of brass, speaking of that which is able to endure (Exo_27:16-19). The earth symbolises the place of death. The pins were partly in the earth and partly out. The cords were fastened, of course, to that part which was above the earth, but the ability of the pin to bear the weight of the house depended on its connection with the earth. You see the parable. It signifies death and resurrection. On the resurrection of Christ hangs all the glory of the Church as the habitation of God. But what would have been the value of His life if He had not been driven into the place of death. He died for our sins, and rose again for our justification. The risen Christ is mighty, but because of His connection with the earth and its curse is He mighty to save.
The cords were supposed to be of the same material as the veil, and the innermost covering of glory and beauty, blue, purple, and scarlet. This would represent the power of Christ in His mediatorial office to preserve His own House, or Church, on the earth. Men talk of preserving the earthly Zion, they forget that it takes the power of a glorified Christ to do that. The Tabernacle, like the Church of God, was in the world, but not of it. Its strength to resist lay not in itself, but in the threefold cord of Jehovah’s love and grace and power. A threefold cord is not easily broken. How safe the blood-washed ones are! "Kept by the power of God" (1Pe_1:5). "I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me" (Psa_23:4).
The Court of the Tabernacle was a hundred and fifty feet long, seventy-five feet broad, and was enclosed by a wall, or hangings of "fine-twined linen," seven and a half feet high. At the east end was the gate through which the worshippers entered to the altar of burntoffering. From the gate we may learn many precious lessons. Let us give thanks to God that-
1. There is a Gate. What a dark world this would have been had there been no way of entrance into the knowledge of and into fellowship with God! "Behold, I set before you an open door" (Rev_3:8). But note that-
2. There was but One Gate. The Gate said, "I am the Way" (Joh_14:6). The wall of curtains said, "There is none other name under Heaven whereby ye must be saved" (Act_4:12). These hangings were suspended from "rods of silver" made from "redemption money"-"hanging on atonement." How suggestive. They seem to occupy the place and do the work of the evangelist. They were made of "fine linen"-this means the righteousness of saints. They depended entirely upon the price of souls (rods of silver) for their support (Exo_30:12-16). They bore a united testimony that the only way to God was by the altar of sacrifice, the Cross of Christ.
3. This was a Wide Gate. It was the same size cubically as the door or the veil. What it lacked in height it had in width. Height means greater or a more enlarged spiritual experience; breadth indicates great liberty of access. Whosoever will may come. The gate of atonement is as wide as the world (1Jn_2:2). The way of substitution is as straight as the new birth. If few find it, it is because few there be that seek it (Mat_7:7). The way into life is straight in this sense, that it is the only way, and that all who enter must have only one purpose in their heart, and that is to trust all to Him who died for sin-open for all, yet only for those who seek atonement at the altar.
4. This was a Strongly-supported Gate. It hung on four pillars. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is supported by four infallible pillars. Each holds up a different aspect of Him who is "The Way, the Truth, and the Life" (Joh_14:6). Their names are Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.
5. This Gate was of the Same Material as the Vail. "Fine-twined linen, blue, purple, and scarlet." The Son of God, the sinless Man, in one Person meets us at the gate of life. A whole Christ to begin with is God’s provision. All was needed to open up the way. All is needed to meet the need of man.
6. This Gate was the Way into Life. Immediately in front of the gate stood the altar of sacrifice. It was impossible to pass in without coming within sight of God’s provision for the sinner. Passing through the gate meant the acceptance of God’s way of salvation. What do we learn from this? This one thing certainly, that the moment the sinner trusts the Lord Jesus Christ as the way to the Father, that moment he comes into personal contact with the atoning blood of the Lamb, and may read his title clear in the light of the Cross. Although two steps may be indicated here between the gate and the altar, yet in Christ there is but one. He is both Gate and Altar. Experimentally we decide at the gate; we are justified at the altar. The one act is ours, the other is God’s. "All that believe are justified from all things" (Act_13:39). Precious faith! Precious blood! Precious promise!
Autor: James Smith