Friday, February 6, 2009

Hobab or the Cloud - Led By The Spirit

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Psalm 32:8 (New KJV)


We are living in perilous times, and learning how to be led by the Holy Spirit of God has never been more critical.

Moses trusted God to lead Israel in the desert with a cloud, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. "... when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out, or if it continued for a day and a night, when the cloud lifted they set out. Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time ... when it lifted they set out" (Numbers 9:21-22, ESV). God’s guidance to Israel in the desert was unmistakable.

But Moses does something really dumb. Moses asks Hobab to guide them: “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us" (10:31). Hobab was Moses’ brother-in-law, a Midianite familiar with the desert. Hobab could make sense to me if God had not already clearly indicated His method of leading in the desert.
(I can’t be too critical of Moses, because I can do dumb things too. When we flunk a test God does not condemn us [see Rom 8:1], He just lets us retake the test.)

I think God gave us this illustration to contrast two ways of making decisions in life. The Hobab way makes sense; it is logical; your friends and family will understand when you explain it. But lets face it, following a cloud does not make sense. Explain that method to your friends and they will think you are crazy.

Sometimes God will send us a Hobab, a trusted, knowledgeable advisor. But don’t put your trust in the advisor, put your trust in God. Learn to be led by the Spirit of God. That is something to ponder.
– David


“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:14). “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14, ESV).