“And [so] it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and [that] the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether [it was] by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed.” (Nu 9:21 AV)
Israel was told to follow the LORD 24/7. God sent a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. It rested on the tabernacle unless it was leading them through the wilderness. Whatever the cloud did or wherever it went, they were told to follow. It mattered not what time of day or night. It didn’t matter what they were doing at the time. They would instructed to follow the LORD no matter how spontaneous it might be. That had to be a hard thing to learn. We like structure. We like a plan. We like predictability and permanence. How could anyone plan a life if at any moment, the LORD could move you? How could one plan on a solid night’s sleep when, in the middle of deep slumber, the trumpet to assemble and move blow you awake? Learning the immediately follow the LORD regardless of circumstance is a difficult step of maturity to learn.
Immediate obedience is a skill that is learned through adversity. It does not come naturally. The obvious comparison would be the military. Stories abound of drill sergeants demanding of their recruits all sorts of tests at the most inconvenient of times. However, there were times our home was similar. My dad would require things that would not make sense at the time. Almost like the Karate Kid. Wax on, wax off. There was a point to these skills. A purpose that would reveal itself much further in life. While raising our children, we did the best we could to teach them the same principle. Immediate obedience builds trust. My children may not have seen the wisdom is the rule at the time. It may have seemed superfluous, a waste of time, or nonsensical. Yet, because of dangers or opportunities they could not see, we insisted they follow. There was a commencement speech given at the University of Texas at Austin on May 17, 2014 by Admiral William H McRaven called, “Make Your Bed”. It was ten lessons Admiral McRaven learned as a Navy Seal. It went viral! The anchor point he made was that everything useful in life that he learned started with making his bed first thing in the morning. He was able to tie the other nine life principles with the discipline of immediately following orders to make his bed first thing in the day. It may have been a simple order to obey in the whole scope of being a Seal. But, in obedience to the little things, it made it much easier to obey in the greater things.
When I read the passage above, I could not help but put myself in the place of the Hebrew, fast asleep after a hard day of work in the fields, only to be awakened at three in the morning by the trumpet to assemble. Knowing there was no warfare, I might be a bit annoyed. Now the Hebrew has to awaken his wife and kids. They have to pack everything up, throw it on the carts, and assemble their flocks. This will take the better part of a morning. For what? Could not this wait until the break of day? Yet, they were told to follow the LORD, day or night. When the trumpet blows, there is no choice. Action is required. No time to fuss. No time to complain. No time to second guess God. God knows what He is doing. God knows the reasons why and He is not obligated to let us in on them. Learning immediate obedience is a hard thing to do. But it is necessary for our maturity.
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