“Follow the Navigator’s Directions”

Pentecost 7 – July 18th and 19th, 2009

Numbers 9:15-23

The Global Positioning System, or GPS, is a relatively new technology for navigation. In the old days, if
you wanted to go somewhere, but didn’t exactly know the directions, you would have to pull out a dingy, ripped
up, coffee stained map, open it up all the way, find your destination and, like a child trying to complete a maze,
attempt to figure out how to get there. And, if you happened to not have a map, there was always the trusty
English-speaking gas station attendant, who would certainly be able to tell you how to get to wherever you needed
to go.
In this highly technological age, it’s much different. Today, you can put your coffee stained, ripped up
maps away. You don’t have to stop at gas station after gas station. Simply get yourself a Global Positioning System,
a GPS, and all your navigational dilemmas will disappear forever. GPS’s are great tools. All you have to do is plug
in the destination, and the GPS will set your travel itinerary for you. There’s no thinking or strategy involved.
There’s literally no chance that you will get lost! The little electronic map on the GPS screen shows you where you
are, the GPS will verbally tell you if you need to turn, and will lead you literally from your front door to your
destination. If you never want to get lost again, just get yourself a GPS and follow your electronic navigator’s
directions.
The GPS is a relatively new technology in navigation. But understand that people have been using the art of
navigation for thousands of years, using everything from maps and compasses to the stars in the sky to figure out
where they are and in what direction they are headed. Of all the navigation tools that people have used over the
years, the one that God gave to the Israelites in the wilderness is by far the most unique and fascinating – a pillar of
cloud and fire over their place of worship, the tabernacle. Now, we often speak of the Israelites and their 40 years of
“wandering” in the desert. But, please don’t get the idea that they were wandering aimlessly without purpose, as if
they didn’t know the layout of the region, or how to get to the land of Canaan. The Israelites were simply following
God’s navigational tool, that pillar of cloud (by day) and fire (by night), which gave them instructions as to when to
move, where to go and at what pace.
The lesson that we’re going to learn today is that God is our navigator. Just as he directed the Israelites and
set their itinerary for them in the wilderness, he also sets our itinerary in this world, taking us along some roads that
are smooth and enjoyable, as well as some that seem off the beaten path – roads that are rocky, bumpy and even
scary to travel. In the end, though, God has made clear to us what our destination is – eternity in heaven. And it is
my prayer that we learn all the more, and with each passing day to trust in God’s navigation, because he has set the
itinerary for our lives, and we know that he will lead us home!

I. He has set your itinerary

Let’s read once again verses 15-17: “15 On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the
cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. 16 That is how it continued to
be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. 17 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set
out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.” 
Global Positioning Systems are wonderful to have for a couple of reasons. If you have a GPS in your car, its
mere presence is comforting. You never have to wonder about where you are going. The GPS actually removes any
anxiety that a person might have about traveling to their destination. If you happen to get lost, you can simply turn
on your GPS, and it will show you where you are, tell you where to go, and which roads to take in order to reach
your destination. Its very presence is soothing, eliminating worry, confusion and frustration. There’s another
reason, though, why it’s nice to have a Global Positioning System. It’s always going to be right – ALWAYS!! You
never have to question its navigation. Its directions are clear, concise and precise every time. That’s why people
who have GPS’s always will look to that first for directions, instead of going through the hassle of trying to figure
out how to get to a destination by coffee stained paper maps and gas station attendants.
What a gift to the children of Israel – this cloud over the tabernacle. Think about how unusual that would
be. In that part of the world, in the Sinai Peninsula, between Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula in the middle east,
you can imagine there aren’t too many cloudy days. How extraordinary then, this supernatural cloud was, not only
that it was there, but that it always accompanied the Israelites, from Egypt to the land of the promise. Its mere
presence over the tabernacle was comforting for them, because it was a visible representation of God’s invisible
presence among them. Every morning, when the Israelite woke up and looked outside their tent in the desert, the
first thing they would do is look to the tabernacle, they looked to their church building, and what they would see is
the cloud hovering over it, signifying that God was still with them. For 430 years of slavery in Egypt it seemed as
though God had abandoned his people, that he had given them over to suffering and hardship and was no longer
concerned about them. But that wasn’t the case at all! In the desert, God made his presence known in miraculous
ways so that the people would always remember what their God had done for them, that he was present with them,
that he was concerned about their welfare, and that he would navigate them and protect them until they reached the
land of promise.
There was yet another important purpose for the cloud over the tabernacle. Like a GPS, this miraculous
cloud never steered Israel in the wrong direction, because it was God himself who was navigating them. Every
morning, the Israelite looked outside their tent not only to see if the cloud was there, (and it always was), but also to
see if it had moved. If it didn’t they stayed where they were. If it lifted from the place of worship, that was a signal
to the people that it was time to pack everything up, the tabernacle, the tents, the children, the livestock,
everything...and fall out. And that’s just what the Israelites did! They knew, even in the midst of uncertainty about
the road ahead, that when the Lord told them to go, they should go, because his promise to them was to lead them
to the flowing with milk and honey, the land promised to the patriarchs long ago.
Just as the destination for Israel was set by God, so also our destination has been set by God, our navigator.
The believer’s destination is a perfect one – a place without sin, without hardship, without sadness, without hatred
and anger, without hunger or thirst, without death – it is a place of everlasting and perfect life, a place of lasting
peace, joy and happiness: the New Jerusalem, the New Eden – heaven, and there is only One who can lead us there:
God himself! Sure, we could try to get there on our own without God’s direction by trying to perfectly perform the
demands of the law, doing the best we can, just hoping that we’ve done enough to satisfy the just demands of a holy
God for our sins. But in the end when we try to get to the destination ourselves without the divine navigator, we
simply end up lost.
 God is our navigator! He has determined our final destination and has set the itinerary for our earthly
journey that ends in glory. The road to that destination is undoubtedly rocky and bumpy. It has stretches where
the skies are clear and long stretches where the skies are dark and threatening. But know this – the road that
believers travel, the road of faith, the path of righteousness that trusts in Jesus Christ for salvation, that looks to the
Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for guidance, is the right road to be on, because that road, which is paved
with the holy and precious blood of the Lamb, Jesus, is the way to heaven. On the cross, God’s one and only Son,
Jesus, offered his blood as payment for our sins. He laid down his life unto death so that we would have eternal life.
And it is God’s promise to us that whoever believes in Jesus as Savior from sin can look ahead to a perfect and
unending heavenly destination. And until that day, when God brings believers to the eternal dwelling place he has
promised, he continues to be with his people day and night, every moment of every second of every day, making his
invisible presence known through visible means – Word and sacrament, so that we will never lose courage for the
road ahead, so that we will always remain confident that God is with us and will one day guide us safely home!

II. He will lead us home!

Sometimes, for the believer, though, it is easy to lose sight of the final destination when the roads the Lord
takes us on during our earthly lives are full of potholes and a bit, at least to us, off the beaten path. We can become
impatient with God, just as the Israelites did in the desert. We hear so often in the Old Testament about how the
children of Israel, despite how God graciously rescued them with great acts of deliverance time and again, still had
doubts about the direction that God was leading them. This text is one of the rare ones in the Pentateuch where the
children of Israel actually listened to the commands of God and did what he said. Most of the time, we hear about
their disobedience, their lack of trust, their rebellion and their unbelief, all because they allowed their present
struggle to place a dense fog over their final destination. The temporary dark clouds along their journey drove them
to lose faith in God’s navigation.
Dark clouds hover over our lives at times too. Yet we must not let any temporary hardship block our view
of the final destination, or cause us to doubt the direction that our heavenly Father is taking us. He is the perfect
navigator. He never makes a mistake. And what’s so beautiful about this picture of God being our guide through
the wilderness of this world is that he is going to bring us to our final destination. We don’t know how long the
journey is going to take. We don’t know what kinds of roads he is going to have us travel on. What we know is
what is in store in the end, and that’s all that matters.
And along the way, if you ever need reassurance, if you ever need a shot of confidence to calm your anxious
heart, do what the Israelites did in the wilderness. Look to the place where God reveals his invisible presence
through visible means. Look to his Word. Look to his house! For there you will be reminded that, through faith in
Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are on the right road. Don’t stop. Don’t turn around. You’re on the right road.
Keep following your navigator’s directions. He’ll lead you straight home to heaven! Amen.