Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them through the way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearby. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war, and they return to Egypt.” Therefore, God led the people around, through the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea, and the children of Israel went up prepared for war out of the land of Egypt.
Exodus 13:17–22
Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the children of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely attend to you, and you shall carry my bones away from here with you.”
They took their journey from Sukkoth and camped in Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. The LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. He did not remove the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.
Having just spent the past few days at a conference where the Holy Spirit was emphasized, it seemed appropriate to adapt this part of a small group study presented on Exodus 13 and post it here. In all the typologies presented in Exodus leading up to the selection above, we have encountered the working of God Almighty (El Shaddai, the Father) and the Lamb (Jesus Christ.) As these have worked to free the Israelites from bondage, we meet this Pillar of Cloud and Pillar of Fire. The question then comes… What (really Who) is this cloud?
I think the answer may surprise some. I think the cloud is the perfect typification of the Holy Spirit. I think the immediate text of Exodus clearly indicates this. Here is why.
Then the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of the cloud moved before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and there was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night. Therefore, the one did not come near the other the entire night.
Exodus 14:19–20
Encountering this text is quite an eye-opener. The angel of God properly understood is none other than a Christophany. It is the person of Jesus Christ as He interacts with people as recorded in the Tanakh. In our minds, we may tend to think that Jesus is the Pillar of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire. The text gives us a distinction. The use of the conjunction and joins the two ideas together. It would follow that if the angel of God has the attributes of a unique Person, then this Pillar of Cloud and Pillar of Fire must also. They Both move in similar ways. But the Angel of God moved to flank the Israelites, while the Pillar of Cloud moved before them and also stood behind them. It is like they were being commissioned.
If you know me. I like to discover patterns in the Scriptures. I consider this to be one of those things that patterns something yet future. The Israelis were saved from and called out of bondage. The purpose was to serve the Lord. We might tend to think of that as just them making animal sacrifices… But I think it is far more. It was to be a witness of Him to the entire world. In a sense, I see this as the same commissioning that Jesus gave His disciples.
So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As My Father has sent Me, even so I send you.” When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained.”
John 20:21–23
The account of the Exodus gives us the pattern Jesus repeats. Just as God sent Jesus, God sent the Angel of the Lord. Just as Jesus sent His apostles (picture Him behind them sending them out,) the Angel of the Lord flanks Israel. Just as Jesus was revealing the Holy Spirit to His disciples, we see the same action of the Angel of the Lord revealing the Pillar of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire.
The Gift of the Holy Spirit
The first thing we can know of the Holy Spirit is that He comes as a gift. Though the initial text from Exodus 13 does not call Him a gift, God gives Him as a guide to the Israelis. He guides and He gives light to them. The New Testament testifies to the fact that the Holy Spirit is a gift.
“Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 2:38
This is the first place we encounter this Pillar of Cloud and Pillar of Fire. I(t is clear that the Holy Spirit covers and guides these Hebrews. The Angel of God removed Himself to reveal the Holy Spirit. This is yet another pattern that is revealed in the New Testament.
“The gift is not like the result that came through the one who sinned. For the judgment from one sin led to condemnation, but the free gift, which came after many trespasses, leads to justification. For if by one man’s trespass death reigned through him, then how much more will those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”
Romans 5:16–17
The Holy Spirit comes after the Lamb. Just as the Lamb was sacrificed for the Passover, the Holy Spirit comes to those saved from death. The Holy Spirit comes after the Lamb has given His life.
The evidence indicates that this Pillar of Cloud and Pillar of Fire typify the ministry of the Holy Spirit. What else can we know from the Tanakh about His work?
The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
The prophet Isaiah tells us overtly of how God’s Spirit works. But it is the Septuagint that is laser-focused, revealing Him precisely.
And God’s spirit will rest on him, a spirit of wisdom and intelligence, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and piety. He will fill him with a spirit of the fear of God; he will not judge according to reputation or reprove according to speech.
Isaiah 11:2–3 (Lexham English Septuagint)
The Holy Spirit comes to the believer with a sevenfold ministry of gifts and activities. These things are witnessed to us by the prophet Isaiah, and expounded upon by the Jewish scholars who translated the Hebrew text into Greek.
Somehow, I want to work the following into a numbered list of seven, and that may work out. I would rather just explore what the Bible says about the working of the Spirit, I think that would be more appropriate. So let’s check it out.
Comforter, Counselor, Advocate
“I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Counselor, that He may be with you forever:”
John 14:16
The Greek word paraclete is translated in that text as Counselor. Other translations use the words Comforter and Advocate, (not a conclusive list.) There is no single English word that suffices to encompass the meaning of the word. Paraclete is used much like the idea of a lawyer in court. One that comes alongside to help. Think of the lawyer for a moment. His skill is in knowing the intricacies of the law. He also offers advice and counsel to his clients. The lawyer is an active advocate for the person.
This serves as a unique starting point. It is easy to see how the Pillar of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire comes alongside the Israelites. In how the cloud is present with the Israelites, day and night He provides comfort. His presence is as a Comforter. He covers Israel.
“He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light in the night.”
Psalm 105:39
In the same way that the Pillar, the Holy Spirit comes into each of us believers as cover and protection.
In Him you also, after hearing the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and after believing in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
Ephesians 1:13–14
Paul calls Him the Seal of a believer. The earnest (or down payment) of a sure promise to be delivered. In that way, the Holy Spirit is both covering and protecting the believer in the same way the Pillar did for the Israelis. This text also conveys the idea that the Holy Spirit comes after the Lamb.
The Holy Spirit gives counsel.
“He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept His statues and the ordinance that He gave them.”
Psalm 99:7
Clearly, God speaks to Israel through the Cloud. He counsels them as a guide to keep His ordinances and to go His ways.
“But when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own authority. But He will speak whatever He hears, and He will tell you things that are to come.”
John 16:13
One can trust the Holy Spirit to complete His minsitry in the believer. Just as the Pillar spoke to Israel, reminding them… The Spirit does the same in us
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.
John 14:26
The Pillar advocated for Israel. He did not forsake them in the wilderness.
yet You in Your great mercy did not forsake them in the wilderness: The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, to lead them in the way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way they should go.
Nehemiah 9:19
His presence was a testimony to all. Even amongst those His presence supported Moses and the other leaders in their work. He worked through them, too… Testifying to their leadership.
“And whenever Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the entrance of the tent, and the Lord spoke with Moses.”
Exodus 33:9
“The Lord came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood in the opening of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.”
Numbers 12:5
Other Ministries of the Holy Spirit
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you are sealed for the day of redemption.”
Ephesians 4:30
It goes without saying that the ministrations of the Holy Spirit can be grieved. Even in this account of the Israelites with His very visible protection around them, they grieved Him by not trusting in Him.
When Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and indeed, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they were extremely terrified, so the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
Exodus 14:10–12
Thank God that the leading of the Holy Spirit is never to a dead end. God parted the sea and made a way for them, keeping His presence in both the Angel of the Lord and the Pillar. When Moses spoke to Pharaoh the words of God, he called Israel His son. Paul tells us that those led by the Spirit are sons of God. It is He Who testifies to that fact.
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.”
Romans 8:14
He is Darkness to His Enemies
Have you ever wondered why some just cannot see the truth witnessed by the Scriptures?
In the Exodus, as the Israelis were penned in between the advancing Egyptians and the Red Sea at the gaping mouth of a canyon, the Pillar was working.
“So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and there was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night. Therefore, the one did not come near the other the entire night.”
Exodus 14:20
The Egyptians had their perception of reality obscured. It happens in unbelievers. It is not that God blinds them so they cannot see, it is that they have not wanted to see the truth but only desired to satisfy their felt needs. The Egyptians became blinded by their own vengeance.
For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, “They are confused in the land. The wilderness has shut them in.” So I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he shall pursue them. And I will be honored because of Pharaoh and because of all his army, so that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.
Exodus 14:3–4
God is more than willing to oblige one’s folly by protecting His own. When the Egyptians decided to pursue Israel, it became darkness to them as their goal was obscured by the Pillar. They pressed on in that darkness of hatred to certain doom. One only has to look back at the longsuffering and patience God had for Pharaoh to change his mind. It seems he may have, but we know not really. There is a lesson there for those who do not believe… Eventually, there is a point in time where God removes His influences and all you will perceive is darkness leading to certain doom. That is indeed a scary path.
It is not a bad thing that God hides things.
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.
Proverbs 25:2
Pharaoh failed to pursue the hidden things of God. He failed the glory of kings. Yet there is a lesson he provides to the unbeliever who finds themselves reading this. You are reading this for a reason. You are pursuing the hidden things. Don’t give up until you find them!
It is this childlike approach to the truth. Pharaoh wanted it for his own exploitation, but they are revealed to those who humbly seek.
“At that time Jesus said, “I thank You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to infants.”
Matthew 11:25
This is the same principle Jesus spoke of and attested to in His parables.
“He answered them, “It is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For to him who has, will more be given, and he will have abundance. But from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Therefore I speak to them in parables: ‘Because they look, but do not see. And they listen, but they do not hear, neither do they understand.’ In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: ‘By hearing, you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing, you will see and shall not perceive; for this people’s heart has grown dull. Their ears have become hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I should heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them, and to…”
Matthew 13:11–17
He Rests in the Tabernacle
“He erected the courtyard all around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the curtain of the courtyard gate. So Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter into the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”
Exodus 40:33–35
This is one of my favorite things about the Holy Spirit. He rested in the Tabernacle. After those Hebrews followed the instructions of Moses, they erected the Tabernacle. The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. The picture given to us is that of a cloud, just as presented inthe Pillar that led the Israelis in the wilderness.
Think about where the Tabernacle is today.
What? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God, and that you are not your own?
1 Corinthians 6:19
The tent of meeting is within the believer. It is that first moment of faith, I believe that Jesus is the Redeemer Who died and rose again. Most of us believers know these things to be true. But if you are that person who might not quite believe, or perhaps one that scoffs, please don’t harden your own heart.
Master's Crumbs 