Just as God protected Israel when it came out of Egypt and wandered in the wilderness to the Promised Land, so he protects his end-time elect as they come out of “Babylon” and wander in the wilderness to Zion. Covering them with his cloud of glory, God shields them against their enemies and against the elements and lights their way through a protracted time of darkness.
Isaiah 60:2Although darkness covers the earth,
and a thick mist the peoples,
upon you Jehovah will shine;
over you his glory shall be visible.
Isaiah 35:1–2Wilderness and arid land shall be jubilant;
the desert shall rejoice
when it blossoms like the crocus.
Joyously it shall break out in flower,
singing with delight;
it shall be endowed with the glory of Lebanon,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.
The glory of Jehovah and the splendor of our God
they shall see [there].
Isaiah 4:5–6Over the whole site of Mount Zion,
and over its solemn assembly,
Jehovah will form a cloud by day
and a mist glowing with fire by night:
above all that is glorious shall be a canopy.
It shall be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day,
a secret refuge from the downpour and from rain.
Isaiah 25:4–5You were a refuge for the poor,
a shelter for the needy in distress,
a covert from the downpour
and shade from the heat.
When the blasts of tyrants beat down
like torrents against a wall,
or like scorching heat in the desert,
you quelled the onslaughts of the heathen:
as burning heat by the shade of a cloud,
you subdued the power of tyrants.