“He spread a cloud as a screen

And fire illuminated the night.”

(Psalm 105:39)

Here we see the Glory Cloud of God being described in the psalm. It is a veil by day and a veil illuminated by fire by night to provide light. This is often referred to as the “Shekinah Glory of God, which simply means, “The Glory of Yahweh dwelling with us.” It is a symbol of His presence and it stood before the people as a sign of His protection and guidance. Importantly, in the New Testament, such language is applied to Jesus (John 1:14). 

Another thing worth noting is that the term that is used to refer to the cloud’s covering over the people is מסך (masak), which is most commonly used to refer to the screen that was placed at the entrance to the Holy Place (see Exodus 26:36; 35:15; 36:37; 39:38; Numbers 3:25, etc.). What is the significance of this? The earthy tabernacle was meant to be a shadow of the eternal tabernacle (Hebrews 8:5) and thus the screen to the Holy Place and the curtain to the Holy of Holies were meant as barriers that blocked people from coming into the presence of God without a sacrifice. Indeed, this cloud did much the same. By becoming the eternal sacrifice, Christ tore down this barrier. So, just as the screen obscured the view of the interworking of the Tabernacle from the outside observer, the cloud obscured the view of God from those who would view from the outside. The veil was torn (Luke 23:45).