LEARN TO OBEY

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

IF YOU LIKE THIS POST PLEASE FOLLOW US, SHARE WITH OTHERS AND PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS AND GIVE US A LIKE.

Translate this site into your preferred language, look for our Google translator in our home page: diningwithjesus.net

Traduce este sitio en tu idioma preferido, busca nuestro traductor de Google en nuestra página de inicio ve a: diningwithjesus.net

As I have been reading through the Bible I have found myself struck by the powerful lessons that both Moses and the people of Israel needed to learn before they would be allowed to enter into the Promised Land. 

Numbers

Specifically, there are a collection of these lessons found throughout the book of Numbers. Most people are turned off of this biblical book thanks to the seemingly dry and boring title that was given to this text. Not many of us get excited about reading numbers and so we typically steer clear of this great text. 

Today I want to share with you one of the lessons that the Lord needed to teach his people as they learned to stop thinking like slaves and start thinking like the children of God. 

15 On the day the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant law, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. 16 That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. 

17 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. 18 At the LORD’S command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 

19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD’S order and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD’S command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. 

21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. 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. 

23 At the LORD’S command they encamped, and at the LORD’S command they set out. They obeyed the LORD’S order, in accordance with his command through Moses.

(Numbers 9:15-23 NIV11)

Pillar

When I have heard others recount this scene, the focus has almost always been on the miraculous nature of the pillar of fire and cloud. When we see this image in our mind’s eye, we are right to be overwhelmed by the physical presence of the Lord on display like this. 

The Lord used these images to reassure his people that he was indeed looking after them and that his presence was among them. This is reassuring for a people who have only been out of their time of slavery for about one year. They needed constant reassurance that the Lord was going to honor his promise to care for their needs and bring them into the land of promise. 

Not Remain

But this physical sign of the Lord’s presence was not going to remain with the people forever. The people would need to move from seeing the presence of God to believing in the presence of God very soon. This is the point of this teaching from Numbers. 

Obey

The real purpose behind the pillar of cloud and fire was to train the people to obey the command of the Lord. Packing up camp and moving required a series of steps that had been given by the Lord to the people through Moses. And setting up camp in their pre-set positions required them to fall under the leadership of those the Lord had placed over them. 

The moving of the people through the wilderness was more about training the people to obey the command of God and to listen to God’s anointed leaders who would eventually need to give the people commands without the presence of the Lord. 

Faith Building

Ultimately, this whole enterprise was a faith building exercise. When the people were weak in their faith, the Lord was present with them physically. But as time went on, the people would need to learn to obey the message of the Word of God. 

Pattern

This has been a pattern I have seen over and over in my life and in the lives of others who have come to faith in Christ. When we are weak in our willingness to trust the Word of the Lord and obey his teachings and follow his examples, the Lord often shown his hand. 

In my journey of faith, the Lord has followed this same pattern. I learned to obey God’s commands while the Lord worked in and through me in the form of signs and wonders. But as I grew in wisdom and understanding, I began to trust in the message of God’s word and I began to follow the leadership of Christ without the need of miraculous signs. 

Learn to Trust

The Lord wants his people to learn to trust in him and to honor his Word without needing to see the pillar of fire and cloud. This is what spiritual maturity looks like. We learn to listen to the message of God’s Word and trust that the Lord will work in and through us as we learn to obey. 

This reminds me of a passage from Romans 8:24-25, “But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, help me learn to trust in your command and to desire to follow in your ways. Help me be someone who desires to say yes to your calling and no to the distractions of the world. Lord, I desire to be one in whom you can fully rely to listen and obey. 

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Works at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

Copyright © 2024 Ryan Laden – All Rights Reserved.