"Neither the pillar of
cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night
left its place in front of the people." (NIV)
Technically I didn’t publish this yesterday, so I’ve
already failed a bit with my original mission, but I did read this passage yesterday… And I know the verse doesn’t literally say “do
not be afraid,” but in a way, to me, this verse says it just as much as some of
the other verses in the Bible.
God had just done an amazing thing for the Israelites, his
covenant people. He had rescued them from over 400 years of slavery and bondage
to the mighty Egyptians. But He knew that the Israelites would be fearful along
their journey into the desert, so He did everything He could to calm their
fears.
He took them the long way around instead of by the much
shorter road through the Philistine country, which was paved with enemy
outposts. He knew that, if the Israelites had to face much opposition at this
point, they would turn right around and go back to Egypt, where they’d be
slaves again, but at least they would know what to expect. Often what we’re
used to—even if it’s something really bad—is less scary to us than the unknown.
At least, I’ve found this to often be the case in my own life.
But the Israelites had someone much more powerful than the
Egyptians to lead them along their journey. They had the Almighty God, El
Shaddai. He went before them in a pillar of cloud during the day, and He led
them in a pillar of fire by night so that they would have light with which to
see. He never left His people the whole time they were traveling. He was always
guiding them.
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