Monday, June 30 He would speak to them from the pillar of cloud.​—Ps. 99:7.

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Monday, June 30

He would speak to them from the pillar of cloud.—Ps. 99:7.

 

Jehovah appointed Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, and as visible evidence He provided a pillar of cloud by day and one of fire by night. (Ex. 13:21) Moses followed the pillar, which led him and the Israelites to the Red Sea. The people panicked when they thought that they were trapped between the sea and the pursuing Egyptian army. But it was no mistake. Jehovah had intentionally led his people there by means of Moses. (Ex. 14:2) God then delivered them in a most astonishing way. (Ex. 14:26-28) For 40 years thereafter, Moses continued to depend on the pillar of cloud to guide God’s people through the wilderness. (Ex. 33:7, 9, 10) From the pillar Jehovah spoke to Moses, who in turn conveyed His instructions to the people. The Israelites had ample evidence that Jehovah was using Moses to guide them. w24.02 21 ¶4-5

 

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The Voice from the Pillar of Cloud and Fire

 

“He would speak to them from the pillar of cloud.” (Psalm 99:7)

 

It’s staggering to think about. Jehovah’s people had both the fire-topped mountain and the guiding pillar — the visible glory of Jehovah above them and His angelic messenger in their midst. And still, they made a calf.

 

At Sinai, the people trembled at thunder, stared at smoke, and watched the mountain blaze with fire. (Exodus 19:16-19) At the same time, the pillar of cloud stood among them — the same one that had gone before them, shielding them from danger and marking Jehovah’s presence. (Deuteronomy 1:33) That pillar contained Jehovah’s personal messenger — likely Michael in his prehuman form, known also as the Word for speaking on God’s behalf. (See Insight on the Scriptures, vol. 1, p. 1006, “Angel of Jehovah.”) From there, Jehovah communicated with Moses, not the people directly. (Isaiah 63:9; Exodus 33:9; Psalm 99:7)

 

And still, they bowed to something else. (Exodus 32:1–6)

 

So what about us? Jehovah’s glory no longer blazes from a mountain, but His appointed King, Jesus Christ, now rules from the heavens — and the evidence is unmistakable. Satan has been hurled down, his fury intensifies, and the world reels under his influence. (Revelation 12:10, 12, 17) Above the chaos, Kingdom rule is active — steady, righteous, unstoppable. And the voice from the pillar? It still speaks — not through a cloud, but through the faithful and discreet slave, feeding us at the proper time. (Matthew 24:45)

 

The evidence is still above us, and still among us.

 

But when direction feels delayed, do we grow restless? When instruction is steady but not spectacular, do we still follow? When the cloud rests — do we wait, or do we build?

 

The apostle Paul warned that the Israelites “were all baptized into Moses by means of the cloud and of the sea,” yet many still turned to idolatry. (1 Corinthians 10:1–7) Modern calves aren’t golden — they’re glowing. In glass. On screens. In headlines. On platforms. They speak with urgency, promise control, and wait for us to kneel. But they aren’t the cloud.

 

So look up. Listen close. Jehovah has given us His voice — not in thunder, but in truth. Not in lightning, but in loyalty. Will we move when the cloud lifts? Will we stay when it rests?

 

Or will we need something more than the cloud?