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. Exodus 13:21
What is of importance to notice here is that the people of Israel were divinely guided on their march. He who selected their path guided them in it, went before them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, in all their wanderings. These gracious symbols of His presence He never took from them as long as they were in the wilderness.
This is only an illustration of the truth, that the Lord is ever the guide of His people. He who leads them out of Egypt may ever be seen before them in the path on which they have entered. He never says, "Go"; but His word is always, "Follow Me." He Himself is the Way, as well as the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).
It is quite true that we have not the visible guidance which the children of Israel enjoyed; but it is no less discernible and certain to the spiritual eye. The Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). It is interesting to remark that there was no such guidance in Egypt or in the land.
This brings out the important truth, that it is only in the wilderness that the indication of a way is needed. And there it is in His tenderness and mercy that the Lord leads His own, showing them the way in which they should walk, where they should rest, and when they should march, leaving nothing to them, but Himself undertaking all for them, only requiring that their eyes should be kept fixed on their Guide. Happy are the people who are thus led, and who are made willing to follow, who by grace are enabled to say, "Only Thou our Leader be, and we still will follow Thee." Edward Dennett
N.J. Hiebert - 20356
July 1
My times are in Thy hands. Psalm 31:15 - Rejoice, with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be kindly affectioned one to another...in honour preferring one another. Romans12: 10,15 - Look not ever man on his own things [interests] but every man also on the things [interests] of others. Philippians 2:4
Father, I know that all my life is portioned out for me,
And the changes that are sure to come I do not fear to see;
But I ask Thee for a patient mind, intent on pleasing Thee.
I ask Thee for a thoughtful love, through constant watching, wise,
To meet the glad with joyful smiles, and wipe the weeping eyes;
A heart at leisure from itself, to soothe and sympathize.
I ask Thee for the daily strength to none that ask denied,
A mind to blend with outward life while keeping at Thy side;
Content to fill a little space if Thou be glorified.
In service which Thy love appoints there are no bonds for me;
My inmost heart is taught the truth that makes Thy children free:
A life of self renouncing love is one of liberty.
Wherever in the world I am, in whatsoever estate,
I have a fellowship with hearts to keep and cultivate;
And a work of lowly love to do for the Lord on whom I wait.
So I ask Thee for daily strength to none that ask denied,
And a mind to blend with outward life while keeping at Thy side;
Content to fill a little space if Thou be glorified.
There are briars besetting every path that call for patient care;
There is a cross in every lot, and an earnest need for prayer;
But a lowly heart that leans on Thee is happy anywhere. Anna Waring 1823-1910
N.J. Hiebert - 20357
July 2
And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart. Deuteronomy 8:2
The wilderness life tends to bring out a great deal of the evil that is in our hearts. We begin our Christian careers with the joy of deliverance, but it is as we go on from stage to stage of our desert course that we become acquainted with self. But we are not to suppose that as we grow in self-knowledge our joy must decline. Quite the opposite! For then our joy would depend on ignorance of self, whereas it really depends on our Knowledge of God.
As the believer goes onward, he learns that sin is a reality; that divine grace is a reality; that salvation is a reality--a deep, personal reality; and that the advocacy of Christ is a reality. In a word, he learns the depth, the fullness, the power, the application of God's gracious resources. As Moses said to Israel (vv.3-4), "He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger [not that you might be driven to despair, but that he might feed] thee with the manna...thy raiment waxed (grew) not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years."
"Thou shalt remember!" What a touching and beautiful appeal! Remember forty years of evidence of what was in the heart of God toward His redeemed people whom He clothed, fed, and cared for in a vast and howling wilderness. What a noble and soul-satisfying display of the fullness of divine resources!
How is it possible that, with the history of Israel's desert wandering lying open before us, we could ever harbour a single doubt or fear! Oh! that our hearts may be more completely emptied of self and more completely filled with Christ. This alone brings true holiness and true happiness. C. H. Mackintosh
N.J. Hiebert - 20358
July 3
And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli...the Lord called Samuel (v.4)...the Lord called yet again, Samuel (v.6)...Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him (v.7)...the Lord called Samuel again the third time (v.8)...Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if He call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth...(v.9).
In chapter 1, Eli lacked discernment; in chapter 2, he lacked the moral courage to separate himself from evil; here, his eyes are dim and he cannot see, nevertheless the lamp of God had not yet gone out--a striking image of his moral condition. And what is more, this leader of the simple proves himself to be dull of understanding. It is not until the third call that "Eli perceived that Jehovah was calling the boy." Yes, "dull of hearing": that is exactly what he had become.
Samuel was simply ignorant, which is a thousand times better. When there is godliness, God remedies ignorance. If the new born babe desires "the pure milk of the word," he will not be refused. Here on earth we know only in part and we will never know otherwise than only in part. That we are not responsible for; but it is a question of growth: "that by it ye may grow" (1 Peter 2:2), and our responsibility is to seek, to this end, spiritual food.
Here we find a feature of Eli's spiritual weakening: "For the iniquity which he hath known, because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not" (v13). Eli knew the evil, and he had authority to repress it in his sons, but he did not use it. What profit was it to him that this authority had been entrusted to him by God? How often the spiritual weakening of the head of a family stems from his slackness when he should have maintained order and discipline in the sphere where his authority was meant to function? This is a great cause of ruin, like Lot, Eli was "distressed with abandoned conversation [manner of life] of the godless." but like him, he displayed a sad forgetfulness of what was due to the Lord's holiness. 1 Samuel - H. L. Rossier
N.J. Hiebert - 20359
July 4
THE REJECTED ONE WILL GOVERN THE EARTH
And Joseph said unto Pharaoh...God hath showed Pharaoh what He is about to do. Genesis 41:25
The wise men of Egypt doubtless had their theories as to the future of Egypt, and shaped their policies and made their plans in accordance with their own ideas--even as today the leaders, of this world, whether political, religious, intellectual, capitalist, or labour, have their various theories of future government of the world.
But there is one thing in common--all the theories of men leave God out of God's world. Men will not own God as "the God of heaven and earth." God is welcome to heaven, about which man knows nothing and cares less, but as for earth, the center of all man's affections, it must be governed according to man's ideal which enthrones the will of man as supreme to the total exclusion of God.
Nevertheless, God has His plans for the future government of the world, and of these plans He has not left us in ignorance. In Pharaoh's day, He showed Pharaoh by a dream what He was about to do. In our day He has shown us still more plainly by direct revelation what He is about to do. God was going to govern Egypt by one who had been rejected by his brethren, cast out, and forgotten by the world. And God has disclosed to us that according to His good pleasure He has purposed to head up all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth (Ephesians 1:10).
The One, who, when He entered the world, found "no room" even in a wayside inn, who, as He passed through it, was "a stranger in the land" and a "wayfaring man" with not where to lay His head, who when He went out of the world was nailed to a cross between two thieves, is the One of whom God has decreed, "The government shall be upon His shoulder" (Isaiah 9:6).
Hamilton Smith
N.J. Hiebert - 20360
July 5
