Numbers 9:15 - Forerunner Commentary

Numbers 9:15

13 But the man who is clean and is not on a journey, and ceases to keep the Passover, that same person ^ashall be cut off from among his people, because he ^bdid not bring the offering of the Lord at its appointed time; that man shall ^cbear his sin.

14 ‘And if a stranger¹ dwells among you, and would keep the Lord’s Passover, he must do so according to the rite of the Passover and according to its ceremony; ^ayou shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger and the native of the land.’ ”

The Cloud and the Fire

15 Now ^aon the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud ^bcovered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony; ^cfrom evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire.

16 So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.

17 Whenever the cloud ^awas taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents.

18 At the¹ command of the Lord the children of Israel would journey, and at the command of the Lord they would camp; ^aas long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle they remained encamped.

19 Even when the cloud continued long, many days above the tabernacle, the children of Israel ^akept the charge of the Lord and did not journey.

Commentaries:

No entry exists in Forerunner Commentary for Numbers 9:15.

Numbers 9:15-23

This inset of instructions is positioned on the first day of the first month as the second year of leaving Egypt began. The tabernacle—the central place of worship—had just been established, and in the analogy we are to understand that God occupies the same position in relation to us. "He is there!" That is the name Abraham gave to God. "He is there." Wherever His people are, He is there. It is His Family that He is with, and His oversight of His Family is to be understood by anybody who is trying to live by faith. He is there!

We cannot literally see the Cloud, but nonetheless, by faith we know that He is there, and one of the major elements in this section is establishing not only that God's presence is with them, but His sovereignty over them at all times. I read the whole thing so that you could see when God said, "Go," they went. When God said, "Stop," they stopped. If it was for one year, one day, or whatever, God was always in charge of His Family and the progress they made toward the Promised Land. So in terms of their overall movement toward the Promised Land—the goal—He always triggered them.

Excerpted from Wilderness Wandering (Part 1)

Numbers 9:15-23

You can see that things are beginning to develop. This is not an accident. The people of God are led by God in and out of things! The people of God move forward at the command of God. They stop at the commandment of God. They are dispersed and scattered by the command of God. They are brought together by the command of God. It is God who raises up leaders. It is God who puts down leaders—in the church.

Excerpted from God's Creation and Our Works

Numbers 9:15-17

Do you see what God is doing here? He is describing how He directed His work (His covenant people) to accomplish His will. He did it through the pillar of fire. He did it through the cloud. Those were the signs that they looked at as to what they were to do.

Excerpted from What Is the Church's Work Today (Part 1)

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