Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker
The Original Sunscreen
I have several vintage commercials from my teenage years still floating around in my head: “I’d walk a mile for a Camel.“ Wendy’s: “Where’s the beef?” Virginia Slims: “You’ve come a long way, Baby!” “How about a nice Hawaiian Punch?” And one of my favorites was the Coppertone suntan commercial with the dog tugging on the little girl’s swimsuit bottom. The selling point was to show what a great tan she had in comparison to her pale bare derriere. Times have certainly changed over the years; now there’s more focus on sunscreen rather than suntan lotion.
In the Old Testament, the Israelites wandered in the desert wilderness for 40 years. That’s a long time to be in the sun. “The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud…” (Exodus 13:21 NLT). The desert had no roads, tracks, or signs. And the Israelites had no maps, landmarks, or guides. But God’s cloud went before them to lead the way at just the right pace and stopped to rest at just the right place. God continues to know the future and will always guide us safely through its trackless ways.
For 40 years, the pillar of cloud was much more than a GPS for Jews. God loved them, had mercy on them, and provided His own unique brand of sunscreen. “He spread a cloud for a covering…” (Psalm 105:39 MEV). This cloud sheltered them from the blazing sun and extreme heat. The Bible contains the historical record of the first supernatural sunscreen. “God’s your Guardian, right at your side to protect you — shielding you from sunstroke, sheltering you from moonstroke” (Psalm 121:5-6 MSG). Without God’s miraculous intervention, wandering around in the desert sun would have turned all of the nearly 3 million Israelites into fried strips of bacon.
Paul wrote to the Church at Corinth, “My dear fellow believers, you need to understand that all of our Jewish ancestors who walked through a wilderness long ago were under the glory cloud…” (1 Corinthians 10:1 TPT). The Israelites witnessed a variety of constant-standing miracles. After 40 years, their clothes didn’t wear out and neither did their sandals. Even when they complained about pitching their tents, whined and disobeyed for 40 years, the cloud didn’t depart but continued to guide and protect them. God was with the Israelites every day and every night, and He continues to be with all believers today. Paul said, “Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!” (2 Corinthians 12:9 AMP).
It was God, not Moses, who actually brought the Israelites out of Egypt. “When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory…” (Exodus 13:17 NLT). The day the mobile Tabernacle was pitched, the pillar of cloud covered it. But from evening until morning the cloud looked like a pillar of fire. This was the usual supernatural pattern for 40 years — a glory cloud by day and a fiery cloud by night. The glory/fiery cloud was the visible divine presence and protection of God. “Whether the cloud stayed above the Tabernacle for two days, a month, or a year, the people of Israel stayed in camp and did not move on. But as soon as it lifted, they broke camp and moved on. So they camped or traveled at the Lord’s command, and they did whatever the Lord told them through Moses” (Numbers 9:22-23 NLT). God never calls believers to do something that He won’t help us accomplish.
The Key: God is awesome! Day or night, He supplies all of our needs.