Numbers 9:15-23--The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle

Numbers 9:15-23
English Standard Version
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The Cloud Covering the Tabernacle
15 On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. 16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. 17 And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped. 18 At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the Lord and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the Lord they remained in camp; then according to the command of the Lord they set out. 21 And sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning. And when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. 22 Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out. 23 At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. They kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.

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A reminder here that the "cloud" that is being talked about here is the glory of the LORD (what the Jews would call the Shekinah glory) that was manifested as a pillar of cloud and pillar of fire that led the people through the wilderness.  Up until this point, the Presence (another name for the glory of the LORD) did not have an official "resting place" in the camp, but they always set up camp around where the glory of the LORD came to rest.  Now, the glory of the LORD rested on the Tabernacle and covered it and at times filled it to such a point that no one could even go in and minister because it was so full of the Presence of the LORD.

God's Presence was both Guide and Protection for the people.  Where God used the cloud to guide the Israelites and to reveal His plan to them, He used the same cloud to conceal and confuse the enemies of Israel like He did to the Egyptians at the Red Sea.  All the people needed to do was follow God's lead and to keep their eyes fixed on Him--there is no indication here that there were any verbal commands to tell them to break camp or set up camp, but that everyone was responsible to keep their eyes fixed on the LORD so that when He moved, they moved and when He rested, they rested.

Sometimes the glory of the LORD only told them to rest for the night and to set out again the next day.  Other times, they stayed in one place for days or weeks or even a month or more at a time.  God knew exactly why they needed to be there and how long they needed to be there and exactly when was the right time for them to move and where they next place was that they should move to.  Imagine us being so in-tune with the presence of the LORD that it was as if we too were following a pillar of cloud and pillar of fire that told us every step we should and should not take!  Yet, it is amazing in all this, with the visible manifestation of God (not that different from Christ being the visible manifestation of God) that the people so often rebelled and were dissatisfied with the times that God had set and the places in which He took them and they grumbled (a key word in the book of Numbers) and complained against Moses (God's chosen leader) and Moses would almost always turn it back around to ask why they were grumbling against the LORD.  It is more clear here maybe than we see in Romans 13 or 1 Peter 2, but it is the same principle that God selects leaders who should follow His lead, and the people should follow the leaders that He's put in charge.  If the leaders are bad, God will take care of them--we'll actually get to some of those exact issues later in the book of Numbers and the book of Deuteronomy.