After the children of Israel had been formed into an army, they were ready to journey to fight for God so that He could gain the ground on earth to build up His kingdom with His house. Their moving was not up to them; it was altogether according to the Lord's leading. They did not move when they wanted to move but when the Lord led them to move. In this message we will begin to consider the journeying of God's people.
The children of Israel set out according to the Lord's guidance (9:15—10:10). Godless people, those who are without God and the Lord, do not have a guide. The worldly people are very busy, but they are without a guide. However, God's people have a guide, and this guide is God Himself.
The children of Israel set out under the guidance of the cloud (9:15-23). When God came to be our Redeemer, He came in type as a lamb. The Lord Jesus is the Lamb of God to take away our sins (John 1:29). But when God came to be our guidance, He came as the cloud. This guidance in the form of a cloud is God consummated to be the Spirit.
A cloud has much to do with the earth, yet it belongs not to the earth but to the heavens. A cloud is closely related to rain and is nearly the same as rain. Often a cloud will actually become rain. When rain comes, something from the heavens reaches the earth, benefiting the people on earth.
Zechariah 12:1 says that God stretched forth the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him. We may say that the heavens are for the earth, the earth is for man, and man, with his spirit, is for God. In what way are the heavens for the earth? When the heavens rain, this rain is for the earth. The earth receives the rain from the heavens. The earth is for man because the earth by the rain produces all kinds of food and foodstuff. Man should live by his spirit for God. This is a simple picture of the scenery concerning man on earth.
The history of human civilization shows that man has usually "followed the cloud" and settled where there is water. Primarily, man lives not in dry places but near the rivers, the seas, and the oceans. Hence, man must follow the cloud. If people do not want to wither and die of thirst, they must go where there is water.