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The appearance of a great cloud in which is resident the glory of the Lord. Eze. 1:4 The Lord has chosen to utilize the cloud as a shield between Himself and those to whom He would make Himself known. Except the Lord grant a special dispensation mankind cannot look upon the Lord in all of His splendor and glory. Take the case of the Apostle Paul who was not only smitten with blindness but his eyes were damaged, burned by the terrific revelation of the glory of the Lord. Acts 26:13 When Ananias prayed for him, scales fell from his eyes and he was healed. Acts 9:18
The visitation of the Lord on Mount Sinai reads like a volcanic explosion. Unlike a similar natural happening, the mountain was not destroyed. The fire of the Lord was present and would have been burning brightly. Keep in mind that our God is a consuming fire. Heb. 12:29 As usual the Lord veiled Himself in the darkness of the thick cloud and in the darkness itself. Had He unveiled Himself, Moses and the children of Israel would have been destroyed by the brightness of His glory. Deut. 4:11
In making covenant with the inhabitants of the earth He placed His bow in the clouds. It is a witness not only of His promise but more importantly, of Himself. The three colors are indicative of the nature of the Godhead. Representing the Father, the yellow, the red, the Son and the blue the Holy Spirit. Three colors, but only one rainbow. Gen. 9:13-16
The visible, consistence assurance of His presence with the children of Israel was in the shape of pillar of a cloud. At night, the cloud became a pillar of fire, giving evidence of the glory of His presence. The cloud was their protection, it was their light at night, it was their guide in all of their journeying. Ex. 13:21-22 That which was a glorious light to Israel was total darkness to their enemies who pursed them. Could it have been that their darkness was the same as they had experienced in all of Egypt? Ex. 10:22-23 When the Lord turns off the lights, they really go off! The glory of the Lord was seen in the cloud. The Lord used the cloud as a cover knowing that the sight of His glory was too brilliant for human eyes to behold. God is light. A radiant, dazzling, gloriously scintillating light outshining all of created light. 1 John 1:5 At the same time He is a sun, emitting life giving pulsations of natural and eternal life. Ps. 84:11 Though He clothe or hide Himself in the dark cloud, there is not to be found any darkness in His person.