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Numbers 9:15-23
15 And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning.
16 So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.
17 And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.
18 At the commandment of the Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the Lord they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents.
19 And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord, and journeyed not.
20 And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the Lord they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the Lord they journeyed.
21 And so it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed.
22 Or whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed.
23 At the commandment of the Lord they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the Lord they journeyed: they kept the charge of the Lord, at the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
Now what is the pillar literally? The cloud is the Shechinah glory of God. Shechinah means “residence of God.” This pillar is God dwelling in the camp of Israel. This Shechinah glory appears several times in the Bible, even though that term is not used.
The first time we see it is in the book of Exodus when the children of Israel are heading out of Egypt toward freedom. In Exodus 13: 21-22, we see that the cloud and fire is there leading the children of Israel.
21 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:
22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
As the Israelites continued on their journey, the Egyptians gave chase. In Exodus 14:19-20, God protected the Israelites by the Shechinah glory cloud.
19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
This is the last reference we see to the Shechinah glory cloud until the reign of King Solomon. Solomon was unveiling the temple and the glory of God filled the temple to the point that the priests could not do any work in the temple for the rest of that day”
13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord;
14 So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.
The Shechinah glory of God then stayed in the temple for years until the book of Ezekiel. As the people grew more and more evil and the judgment of God and the destruction of the temple moved closer and closer, the Shechinah glory gradually moved out of the temple. Ezekiel saw the glory of God move out of the temple in a vision given to Him by God while living in Babylon. First, the glory of God moved out of the Holy of Holies (Ezekiel 9:3).
3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house.
After this, the cloud moved out of the temple itself toward the east gate of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 10:18-19).
18 Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims.
19 And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
Finally, the Shechinah glory of God moved out of Jerusalem itself, by way of the east gate, to the Mount of Olives (Ezekiel 11:22-23).
22 Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.
23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.
Since then, the Shechinah glory of God has not had a dwelling place in the city of Jerusalem. But Ezekiel prophesied of the return of the glory of God to the capital city of His chosen people. This return is to take place after the 7 year Tribulation period and the Battle of Armageddon. It will coincide with the Glorious Appearing of Jesus Christ as He comes to rule and reign upon the earth. It is at this time that a new temple will be built. Now, the Antichrist, in a 7 year “peace treaty” with Israel, will allow them to build a temple and to continue the sacrifices of the Old Testament. He will then break the treaty with Israel and defile the temple as is prophesied in Daniel 9:27. This temple will be torn down and a new temple, called the Millennial temple, will be built in its place. Christ and the Shechinah glory of God now return. This day is prophesied in Zechariah 14. In verse 4 of this passage, Christ begins His return into the city of Jerusalem.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
Now not only is God’s glory returning to Jerusalem, it is returning to Jerusalem the same way it left, by way of the Mount of Olives and the east gate. Even now, people who do not believe in Jesus, like the Muslims, are trying to make sure that this doesn’t happen. The Muslims have built a graveyard right in the path that Jesus would have to take. Going through this graveyard, they claim, would defile Him. But if God can raise His Son up from the dead, surely a small thing such as a graveyard would not stop Him!!
We have talked about Christ depicted as the Shechinah glory cloud, but what does that mean for us today. Well, the cloud had a two-fold purpose in the book of Numbers.
1. To dwell in the tabernacle (God’ house) and
2. To lead the children of Israel.
God desires the same thing today. First, He desires to live in our hearts and lives. We are His tabernacle or temple.
I Corinthians 6:19-20
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
Second, He desires to lead us. He wants us to follow His will, His plan. He told Peter and Andrew, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:19).” To each of His other disciples He said follow me. To us He says deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me (Luke 9:23). Oh, we have a choice. Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all and follow Him. But this man did not. The question is, what you will choose?
Next time we will look at Deuteronomy, where Christ is depicted as the prophet like unto Moses.
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