Why were the Israelites still disobedient when they saw the cloud and fire every day?
The Israelites' disobedience was not due to a lack of evidence; they saw the supernatural cloud by day and fire by night. The same human tendency persists today, as people with equal evidence of God's power still sin. Miraculous displays do not automatically produce obedience.
Les explains that the cloud was the very presence of Jehovah, a supernatural cloud that gave shade by day and became a pillar of fire by night. He rejects the volcano conjecture as ridiculous. Later, the cloud rested over the Holy of Holies and guided Israel's movements. Yet Les expresses amazement that the Jews, seeing this daily, could still be so disobedient and prone to sin. He then applies this to the present: we are no different and have just as much evidence of the power of God. The problem is not evidence but the same human tendency that exists today.