Lead On
His presence guided them by day and by night
Lead On was written while I was living in Louisiana. Way down there in the deep South, I was taking a Bible study by Beth Moore called ‘A Woman’s heart’. It was based on the book of Exodus; God’s leading the Hebrews through the wilderness (think of the movie, ‘The Prince of Egypt!). A study that I thought might be a bit dry was anything but. The Hebrews were to build a tabernacle, that God ‘might dwell among them.’ The study went on to reveal all the ways in which God did that, revealing himself to those ancient followers by name, supplying their food, their drink, and being, himself, their protection. This pretty much revolutionized my faith.
Lead On is allegorical in some ways, but the events alluded in the first verse are all drawn from the Old Testament: the burning bush where God reveals himself and his name to Moses (Exodus 3), the provision of bread from heaven – manna – to the Hebrews in the desert (Exodus 16) and of water from the rock (Exodus 17), and his presence leading them by day and night (Exodus 13).
Fast forward to the New Testament, to the moment that Christ dies on the cross. The curtain separating the most holy place of the tabernacle, where only the high priest could enter to give offerings only once a year, ripped from top to bottom. God’s dwelling place was now open to all. (Matthew 27:51). The table of fellowship between man and God had been set.