Today is one of those cloudy days, not the beautiful wispy white clouds that are separated by a beautiful blue background, but today is a mixture of white and gray clouds. They loom over us like a blanket blocking out the sun. There are many kinds of clouds: stratus, which is flat layered and smooth; cumulus is those that are puffy and heaped up like scoops of ice cream; cirrus is wispy clouds that are very high in the sky; and nimbus is those rain-bearing clouds.
Clouds are referred to throughout Scripture. The first time a cloud is mentioned in the Bible is Genesis 9:9 where God was establishing His covenant with Noah. The earth had become so consumed with sin and wickedness that God destroyed everyone and everything with a global flood. All that was not on the ark with Noah was destroyed. The people had been given the opportunity to repent, but when God determined He had enough, He gave Noah the task of preaching repentance and building the ark for safety. Anyone who would enter the ark would be spared, but only Noah and his family listened and obeyed. After God saved them from the flood, He established a covenant with Noah and all mankind: He would never destroy the entire earth with a flood again. As a symbol of that covenant, He put a rainbow in the cloud. Today, when I see a rainbow, I am reminded of God’s promise and His mercy.
Genesis 9:9 “And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you;”
Genesis 9:12-14 “And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:”
In Exodus, a cloud was a sign that God was in the midst of the Israelites. In Exodus chapter 13, God uses a cloud to lead His people out of captivity. God had told Moses what to do and God led them away from their enemy. If they had not followed the cloud, they would not have experienced God’s victory and protection.
Exodus 13:21 “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:”
In Exodus 14:19-20, God is still protecting them with a cloud. He removes the cloud from before them and places it between them and the enemy. The side that is toward the Israelites is one of those bright white puffy clouds we think about on a beautiful day. The backside of the cloud, the one facing the enemy, is dark. This is symbolic of the world we live in today. The Israelites had God with them. Where He is there is always light, but without Him there is darkness. God was protecting His people by using a cloud.
Exodus 14:19-20 “And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
Exo 14:20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.”
In Exodus 24:15-16, God summons Moses to come to the top of the mountain. Moses obeys and God communes with Moses. When he goes up on the mountain, he takes Joshua with him. Joshua and Moses were camped out for seven days before Moses was invited into the cloud where the glory of God abode. From this point forward a cloud was used as a symbol of God’s nearness.
Exodus 24:15-16 “And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.”
As a child, I looked to the clouds to stretch my imagination, but today when I look at clouds, I think of the second coming of Jesus. In Acts 1:10-11, Jesus was leaving this earth to ascend back to the Father. While His disciples were standing there watching Him go out of sight, angels spoke to them and assured them that just as Jesus left in a cloud, He would one day come again in the same way. When He returns, everyone on earth will see Him when He appears in the sky. I don’t know if He will be riding a cloud, walking between them, or standing on one, but one thing I know for sure is that he will come again, and the clouds will be the agent to usher Him in.
Act 1:10-11 “And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
Revelation 1:7 “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen”
Look to the clouds. He is coming again!
