Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Cloud ~ Bread for Beggars

Now is such a meaningful time to be thinking about God’s presence among us. In these crazy uncertain days that we now live, we may even wonder if in fact God cares about us. This had led me to become intrigued with the imagery of the pillars of cloud and fire that God used to lead the Israelites in the Exodus account.

The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on their way and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light. In this way they could travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people.
Exodus 13:21-22

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Not only did he use these visual pillars as guidance tools but also as a means to protect his people from danger. Perhaps even more important to remember is that God was actually in the pillars. He was visible to them at night, like a child’s night-light to ease fears and create calm and a sense of protection from the dangers of the darkness.

In the day the pillar of cloud would be an assurance of his abiding presence. God in the pillar would go in front of them and did not depart from the Israelites through their 40-year journey through the wilderness. The people also showed their trust in God’s promise by following.

This print shows side by side the two pillars in a graphic style via hand pulled printmaking methods of screen printing and wood cut printing, not a reproduction or giclee. The image size is 8” x 10” on archival paper sized 10” x 12”.

The image on the left represents the pillar of fire at night, surrounded by deep dark night. The fire is represented by flowing tongues of orange, red and metallic blue. The pillar of cloud on the right is shown as a swirling mass of transparent white and metallic blue surrounded by a background of gold metallic.

Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Glory of the Lord filled the tent. Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud stayed over it, and the Glory of the Lord filled the tent. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tent, the people of Israel would move forward. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they would not travel until the day when it was taken up. For in the sight of the whole house of Israel, the cloud of the Lord was above the tent by day, and there was fire in the cloud by night, throughout all their journeys.
Exodus 40:34-38

Jesus was with his disciples on the turbulent water. His familiar voice was enough to calm their fears. We also have his voice and his promise to be with us and to never leave or forsake us.

No matter how wearisome we become with the events currently happening in our lives, we can take courage in God’s continual presence in our lives just as he was present to the Israelites in the desert.

This limited edition consists of 40 prints total. All proceeds from the sales of these prints will be directed to support the work of Bread for Beggars and Community of WELS Creatives, an organization that supports and connects faith-filled artists with the worship community.

John Bergmeier.com

Please visit John’s site to purchase a print and explore more artwork.