The Pillar Of Cloud And Fire

The Pillar Of Cloud And Fire

When reading the scriptures, one thing I love to do is to put myself into the story. When I do this, I think about what the sites and sounds would have been like. Who would I see? I try to take in the story as if I were there. One story that always pulled me in is the Exodus and the appearance of the pillar of cloud and fire.

I often try to imagine what this would have looked like. Did the pillar reach to Heaven? How low did it come? Was the cloud made of the smoke from the fire? So many questions swirl through my head. Oh, how I wish I could have seen this in person.

In our class on Exodus, we discovered all the ways the Passover Lamb pointed us to Jesus and here I want us to look at all the ways the pillar of cloud and fire points us to the Holy Spirit.

The author of Exodus introduces the pillar to us in Exodus 13:20. Several other places throughout the Scriptures remind us of it. One such scripture is Numbers 14:14 NIV, which says, “And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, Lord, are with these people and that you, Lord, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.” So how does a pillar of cloud and fire point us to the Holy Spirit? I am so glad you asked.

When Did The Pillar Of Cloud And Fire First Appear?

Let’s first look at the timing. When did the pillar of cloud and fire first appear? It appears after the blood of the Passover lamb allowed them to be passed over and after God delivered them from Egypt.

When did the Holy Spirit come? The Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost just after Jesus ascended into Heaven after His death and resurrection. Once God delivered the Israelites from Egypt, He sent the pillar of cloud and fire. Once God delivered us through Jesus, He sent the Holy Spirit.

To go one step further. When do we receive the Holy Spirt? We personally receive the Holy Spirit once we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Each one begins with submission, followed by deliverance, then the Spirit comes.

The Pillar Of Cloud And Fire Directed Them

I am terrible with directions. Even when I have street signs and landmarks, I can still get lost. Wandering the dessert with nothing around would not be the place for me. God knew the Israelites would need guidance too, so He sent the pillar to guide them throughout the wilderness.

In our day to day lives, we can also get lost. Maybe not directionally, but we need guidance for decisions we make it throughout our day. Just like the pillar that guided the Israelites, the Holy spirit guides and directs us. Neither we, nor the Israelites, asked for this guidance. Both were a gift. Both a provision of God’s mercy.

We Hear His Voice

Psalm 99:7 NIV says, “He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.” God spoke to the Israelites through the Pillar in the same way the Lord speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. We have various scriptures that reiterate this, like in Revelation 2, when John writes to the churches and says, “Let them hear what the Spirit says.”

The Pillar Provided Covering And Light

When I imagine the Israelites’ time in the wilderness, I imagine the smoldering heat of the day and the absolute darkness of the night. If I were there, the only thing I could think about would be the dessert critters that would be creeping in the dark.

Psalm 105:39 NIV says, “He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire to give light at night.” Imagine this with me. In the heat of the day, God provided shelter with a pillar of cloud. He protected them in ways they could never have thought to ask for. In the night, God gave them light through the fire in the pillar.

In the same way, the Holy Spirit comforts and protects us while also illuminating things in our lives we need to pay attention to. There are many occasions in my life where I have felt anxious and could not calm down until I let the Holy Spirit work in me. When I would stop thinking about the problems and pray for peace, the Holy Spirit brought comfort. Likewise, He has stopped me from doing things the way I had planned and rerouted me to do things that worked out much better than I could ever have planned myself.

The Cloud Filled The Tabernacle

Further into Exodus, we will find the building of the tabernacle. Once finished, the pillar of cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34). The presence of God was in the tabernacle and while it was there, Moses could not enter the tabernacle.

Much in the same way, the Holy Spirit showed up in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. Not only was the room full of the Holy Spirit, but so were each of them. You can read further on that in Acts 2.

The Holy Spirit Never Leaves Us

Reading throughout Exodus and the rest of the Bible, we find humanity wandering and complaining. When things don’t go as we planned, we get feisty and frustrated with God. No matter how upset the Israelites got with God, the pillar of cloud and fire never left them.

Nehemiah reminds his readers of God’s faithfulness in Nehemiah 9:19-21 NIV, “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day, the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet become swollen.”

Praise God that in the same way, no matter how far we fall, He will never leave us. John spoke this in John 14:16 NLT, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.”

The Plan Of Redemption

Every part of Exodus points us to redemption. From the Passover Lamb pointing us to Jesus to the pillar of cloud and fire pointing us to the Holy Spirit, there are pictures upon pictures pointing us to the redemption that comes on through Jesus. If you would like to learn more about this, you can always join the Exodus study and/or watch the replays to see all the incredible imagery of redemption.