Numbers 9:22 Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out.
Anyone who has raised small children remembers how important routines are to the welfare of the children and the sanity of the parents! Bedtime routines, including bath, reading a story, snuggles, brushing teeth, back rubbing, final kisses and lights out. I can imagine you had something similar when you were growing up.
Training a child is difficult work. It starts with some of the simplest tasks, like putting on pants and a top. You have to figure out how to put them on the right way around. One leg in each pant leg, zipper up front. Then comes the shoes, and then tying the shoes.
But you always start with the most basic things. Never cross the road without holding the hand of an adult. Look both ways before crossing. Listen to your parents!
Israel is in its infancy in their relationship with the LORD. They have failed at obedience again and again. And they have only been on their journey for a little over a year. So the LORD starts with the basics.
Our text tells us the most basic instruction about following the LORD through the desert; only move when the LORD tells you to move. You would think this is too basic to start with, since these are adults we are talking about. But these adults have been slaves with masters who dictated every aspect of their lives. They don’t know how to govern themselves. They are just learning.
They knew how to be slaves. They knew how to follow the dictates of their masters. But they don’t know how to follow the leading of the God who shows up in fire and smoke. They struggle to follow His commands.
So the LORD tells them to stay put and not move camp until the LORD moves. The LORD’s presence in the fire and cloud over the Tabernacle will signal when to stay put. When the fire and cloud move, then they are to move. Simple, right!
But this is where the LORD must start their training. Sounds like “Simon Says”, that kids playground game, doesn’t it. “Simon says, ‘take two steps forward.’”
Are there areas of you life where you keep missing the LORD’s leading, where you step out on your own without His guidance and timing? It is important to recognize where we get ahead or behind His leading. Identify when you have moved ahead and why you moved ahead, when you have hesitated and why.
I love that the LORD added trumpet calls to help the Israelites know when it was time to start and stop. With a million people, not everyone would be aware of the moving of the cloud and fire. Daily life would take over if they stayed put for too long. They could get lulled into thinking their current spot was permanent.
So the LORD had Moses commission the making of two trumpets to help with the signaling task. I can imagine that they were different pitches, so as to distinguish between their sounds. I also imagine different melodies being played to let people know exactly what they were supposed to do and when.
Do you every imagine something as clear as trumpet calls to help you know the LORD’s will and timing? I think it would be nice! It would take the doubt away.
But we have clarity. We have the Scriptures that give us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him. We don’t need more guidance. And yet He gives us the Holy Spirit as resident instructor to help us discern His will in every circumstance.
The Arnold Journey 