Warm up in pairs:  Can you think of a time the Lord closed a door in your life and you thought it was a mistake, but then later realized he was right?

Numbers 9:15-16 Questions

1. Does anyone know what the word “tabernacle” means? It means to dwell and describes God’s dwelling place among his people.  In Exodus 25:8 it is a tent.
2. Did the Lord give specific instructions for building the tabernacle?   See Exodus 25:1-36:43
3. When did the glory of God first appear in a cloud to the Israelites? When they first left Egypt.   See Exodus 13:21
4. After the cloud appeared over the tabernacle and the glory of God filled it, who could enter it? No one, not even Moses.
5. What is the significance of the cloud of God’s glory hovering over the tent? It signified his approval.
6. When was the fire most visible? When it was dark   When is God’s presence sometimes most visible in our lives?  When it is dark
7. Does anyone know when the cloud of glory was no longer present? After the Israelites entered the promised land, but it did reappear temporarily at the dedication of the temple.  (I Kings 10-11)

Numbers 9:17-21 Questions

1. When the cloud moved, what did the people do? They moved.  When the cloud stayed what did the people do?   They stayed.
2. When God tells us to move, what should we do?    When God tells us to stay, what should we do?  Stay.   Since we do not have a visible cloud to follow, how do we know when to move and when to stay?
3. When the cloud stayed over the tabernacle a long time, what did the people do? They stayed even though some may have grown impatient.
4. According to 9:20-21, what other two lengths of time did the cloud stay? Only a few days and from evening till morning.
5. How must the Israelites have felt when only stayed from evening till morning? What about the people responsible for setting up and breaking down the tabernacle?
6. Why do you think the Lord never gave them a time table in advance as to when they would move? Do we sometimes wish the Lord would give us an itinerary for our future?   One possible answer for both is that he wants us to learn to trust him day by day, even though we must be wise in planning based on what we do know.
7. What did the Israelites have even when they didn’t know how long they would be there? The glory of his presence.

Numbers 9:22-23 Questions

1. What was the Israelites destination? The promised land-Canaan.
2. God’s way is the best way: Sometimes   b. Never   c. All the time.
3. Is God’s timing always perfect? Yes, even though we do not always believe that it is.
4. How did God know when was the right time to move? He is omniscient.   He is God and knows everything.
5. What light does Revelation 21:1-3 shed on the idea of God’s dwelling place among men?
6. What did Jesus promise about being with us even to the end of the age in Matthew 28:20?