He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar
In the pillar of the clouds of glory, as the Targum; in which the Lord went before the children of Israel in the wilderness, to lead them, and protect them from heat in the day, ( Exodus 13:21 Exodus 13:22 ) , that is, he spake in this to Moses and Aaron; for it ceased when they came to the land of Canaan; instances of which see in ( Exodus 19:9 ) ( Numbers 12:5 ) , some have thought that the Lord might speak to Samuel also out of a cloud, when he called upon him, and it thundered, since clouds and thunder go together, ( 1 Samuel 12:18 ) , the cloudy pillar was a type of Christ; and it is by him the Lord has spoken all his mind and will, when he was clothed with a cloud, or became obscure in the form of a servant; and it is through him, the Mediator, that men have access to God, and answers of prayer from him:
they kept his testimonies;
the law, and the precepts of it, which were testifications of the mind and will of God; these Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, kept, though not perfectly, yet sincerely, from a principle of love, and with a view to the glory of God:
and the ordinance that he gave them;
the ordinance of the passover, with the several rituals of the ceremonial law, which was an ordinance of God until the Messiah came; and we, under the Gospel dispensation, ought to keep the ordinances of Christ in faith and love, as they have been delivered to us; and such only can expect to be heard and answered by the Lord; and this is the reason of the mention of these things; see ( Psalms 66:18 ) ( Proverbs 28:9 ) .