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GOOD NEWS FROM THE REDEEMER
December 30, 2000 RADIO MESSAGE #352
Christ in Exodus #45
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(Continued from previous message.)IV. This pillar was "by day a pillar of cloud." Among other things, clouds speak of the mobility of God. "He makes the clouds His chariot" (Psalm 104:3), and "the clouds are the dust of His feet" (Nahum 1:3). The idols of the nations are immobile, and must be borne. But the God of Israel comes and goes as He wills, riding in His chariot before His people and leaving His dust to serve as their guide.
Clouds are associated with Christ. They accompanied Him in His first advent, when "the Son of Man" was described as "coming with the clouds of heaven" (Daniel 7:13). They shall accompany Him at His second advent, when He is described as "coming with clouds" (Revelation 1:7) as He leads His people to their final victory (Revelation 19:11ff).
V. This pillar was "by night a pillar of fire." Among other things, fire speaks of illumination, bringing to light what is otherwise hidden or obscure. Israel was never in darkness during their wilderness journey, whether they were encamped – which they usually were at night, or traveling – which they sometimes did at night (Nehemiah 9:12). Christ is the Light to His people. His people are never in darkness during their earthly pilgrimage, because He is to them "the Light of the world" who promises that "he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life" (John 8:12). And when His "Zion" is encamped in their respective assembled churches, He is "above her assemblies" (Isaiah 4:5) as their Light to reveal His truth to them and their duty to Him.
VI. The pillar was at times changed in form to serve as "a cloud of covering" (Psalm 105:39). At these times it served to provide a shadow over Israel – a very welcome relief in the desert sun and heat. Christ is a shadow to His people. Isaiah's prophecy describes Him as a "covering" (v.5), a canopy or defense (see margin) for His church. We elsewhere are assured that "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1). This "secret place of the Most High" is His heart or bosom, where His only begotten Son lies (John 1:18). Those who are in this secret place are all who were "chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world" (Ephesians 1:4), and who subsequently have themselves chosen to abide in Christ (John 15:4, 7). Since they abide in Christ, and Christ abides in the "secret place of the Most High," so do they. They therefore "abide under the shadow of the Almighty." &! nbsp;Christ is "the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8). Under His shadow, canopy or defense, all His people are protected from all the trials and tribulations of this life (as in the remaining verses of Psalm 91).
VII. The pillar was at times changed in form to serve as a wall of defense (Exodus 14:20): "it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. ... the one did not come near the other all that night. It here prevented Israel from being overtaken by their enemy by placing itself as an impregnable wall between them and their pursuers. Christ is a "a wall of fire all around [His people]" (Zechariah 2:5). His church will therefore never be overtaken by the enemy, because even "the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).
VIII. The pillar could both bless and curse at the same time (Exodus 14:20): "Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the [Egyptians], and it gave light by night to the [Israelites]." Christ is both a blesser of one and a curser of another, at the same time (1 Peter 2:6-8): He is to believers "the chief cornerstone" upon which they shall never be confounded; He is to unbelievers "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense."
IX. The pillar was perpetually with Israel (Nehemiah 9:19): "in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day ...; nor the pillar fire by night." Christ is perpetually with His people (Matthew 28:20): He has promised His church that "lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."