Then the Lord
will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud
by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all
the glory will be a canopy. (Isaiah 4:5)
I think it’s hard for us to grasp the significance
of the cloud and the fire described here.
I think first of the cloud and fire in Exodus, the signs the people had
to follow so they always knew where to go.
I’ve sometimes wished for my own cloud or fire. Could the Lord show me in such a clear,
unmistakable way which direction to go?
I believe there’s another aspect to this cloud and
fire that I miss because I’ve lived my entire life with immediate access to
shelter and even air conditioning or heat as needed. I’ve camped a couple of times where I’ve been
cold for a few hours. But even then if I
was really desperate I could have crawled out of my tent, climbed into the
vehicle a few feet away and cranked up the heat.
A couple of weeks ago, my family hiked over 5 miles
in Palo Duro Canyon. It was about 95
degrees that day.
We cheered EVERY cloud
that passed overhead! (There weren’t many.) We were just hiking for a few hours
before heading back to our air conditioned car and an unlimited source of
water, but we still stopped in every patch of shade and welcomed every shadow.
Israel is primarily a desert land, and for the
people in this land a cloud is not just comfort but protection. At night the temperature in the desert drops
sharply, so fire is a necessary source of warmth as well as light to see and
provides a measure of safety. This cloud
and fire aren’t just making the people more comfortable, they are a key to
survival.
The Lord is reminding the people of something He
repeats throughout scripture: I will be your shelter. I will be your protection. I will be your refuge from the storm. As true
for us in our ‘storms’ and ‘deserts’ as it was for the people of Israel.
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