Exodus 13:21

13:21,22 The Lord went before them in a pillar, or appearance of the Divine Majesty. Christ was with the church in the wilderness, 1Co 10:9. Those whom God brings into a wilderness, he will not leave nor lose there, but will take care to lead them through it. It was great satisfaction to Moses and the pious Israelites, to be sure that they were under Divine guidance. Those who make the glory of God their end, and the word of God their rule, the Spirit of God the guide of their affections, and the providence of God the guide of their affairs, may be sure that the Lord goes before them, though they cannot see it with their eyes: we must now live by faith. When Israel marched, this pillar went before, and pointed out the place of encampment, as Divine Wisdom saw fit. It sheltered by day from the heat, and gave light by night. The Bible is a light to our feet, a lantern to our paths, with which the Saviour's love has provided us. It testifies of Christ. It is to us like the pillar to the Israelites. Listen to that voice which cries, I am the Light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of life, Joh 8:12. Jesus Christ alone, as shown in the Bible, and as the Holy Spirit, in answer to prayer, recommends him to the soul, is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Joh 14:6.

Exodus 13:21 . And the Lord went before them in a pillar — In the first two stages, it was enough that God directed Moses whither to march; he knew the country, and the road; but now they are come to the edge of the wilderness, they would have occasion for a guide, and a very good guide they had, infinitely wise, kind, and faithful, the Lord went up before them; the shechinah, or appearance of the Divine Majesty, which was a previous manifestation of the eternal Word, who, in the fulness of time, was to be made flesh, and dwell among us. Christ was with the church in the wilderness, 1 Corinthians 10:9 . What a satisfaction to Moses and the pious Israelites, to be sure that they were under a divine conduct! They need not fear missing their way who were thus led, nor being lost who were thus directed; they need not fear being benighted who were thus illuminated, nor being robbed who were thus protected. And they who make the glory of God their end, and the word of God their rule, the Spirit of God the guide of their affections, and the providence of God the guide of their affairs, may be confident that the Lord goes before them, as truly as he went before Israel in the wilderness, though not so sensibly. They had sensible effects of God’s going before them in this pillar. For, it led them the way in that vast howling wilderness, in which there was no road, no track, no way-marks, through which they had no guides.

When they marched, this pillar went before them, at the rate that they could follow, and appointed the place of their encampment, as infinite Wisdom saw fit; which eased them from care, and secured them from danger, both in moving, and in resting. It sheltered them from the heat by day, which at some times of the year was extreme, and it gave them light by night when they had occasion for it.

(21) The Lord went before them. —In Exodus 13:17-18 , the writer has declared that “God led the people;” he now explains how. from Succoth certainly, probably from Rameses, He moved in front of the host in the form of a pillar, which had the appearance of smoke by day and of fire by night. The Israelites marched, it is implied, some part of each day and some part of each night, which would be in accordance with modern practice, and is an arrangement introduced to get the march accomplished before the sun attains his full power. The pillar was at once a signal and a guide. When it moved, the people moved; when it stopped, they encamped ( Exodus 40:36-38 ); where it went, they followed. It bore some resemblance to the fire and smoke signals which generals used when at the head of their armies (Lepsius, Denkmäler, vol. ii., pl. 150, 2; Papyr. Anastas, 1; Q. Curt, Vit. Alex. v. 2, &c), and indicated that God had constituted Himself the generalissimo of the host; but it was altogether of a miraculous and abnormal character. To go by day and night.—The night journeys of the people are mentioned again in Numbers 9:21.

The Lord, the Son of God, whose presence and conduct the Israelites had in the wilderness, as appears from 1 Corinthians 10:4,9 ; compare Hebrews 11:26 ; who is sometimes called the Angel of the Lord , Exodus 14:19 , because he was and was to be his Father’s Angel or Messenger, sent by God unto men to ratify his covenant with them; whence he is called the Angel of the covenant , Malachi 3:1 , as he is upon another account called the Angel of his presence , Isaiah 63:9 . Went before them, not by local motion, but by his gracious and powerful operations for and about them. The pillar was but one, Numbers 9:15,16 , having two different appearances and uses, of a cloud by day, to defend them from the heat, Psalm 105:39 , which in those parts was excessive; and of a fire by night, to illuminate them. It was a cloud erected towards heaven, like a pillar upwards; but downwards flat and broad, spread over the body of the people, and afterwards more eminently over the tabernacle. To lead them the way, which was altogether necessary in those vast and pathless deserts, Numbers 10:33 Deu 1:33 .

Pillar of cloud - The Lord Himself did for the Israelites by preternatural means that which armies were obliged to do for themselves by natural agents. The Persians and Greeks used fire and smoke as signals in their marches, and in a well-known papyrus, the commander of an Egyptian expedition is called "A flame in the darkness at the head of his soldiers." By this sign then of the pillar of cloud, the Lord showed Himself as their leader and general Exodus 15:3 , Exodus 15:6 .

Verses 21, 22. - THE PILLAR OF THE CLOUD AND OF FIRE. Having stated, in verse 17, that "God led the Israelites," and determined their route for them, the writer here proceeds to explain how this leading was accomplished. With extreme simplicity and directness he states, that the conduct was effected by means of an appearance, which in the daytime was like a column or pillar of smoke ascending from earth to heaven, and in the night was like a pillar of fire. He considers the presence of God to have been in the pillar, which moved in front of the host, and showed them the way that they were to go. When it halted, they halted when it advanced, they advanced. Their journeys being made as much in the night-time as in the day, on account of the intense heat, the pillar took in the night the appearance of a column of fire, so as to be equally visible as by day. All attempts to give a rational explanation of the phenomenon are misplaced, since the writer, from whom alone we derive our information on the subject, clearly regarded it as miraculous; and both here and elsewhere ( Exodus 14:19, 20, 24 ; Exodus 33:9 ; Numbers 12:5 ; Numbers 14:11 ) speaks of it as a form under which God was pleased to show himself. There is little doubt that fire and smoke signals were already used by commanders of armies for much the same purpose as that which God now accomplished in this way.

The Egyptian documents of the period contain indications of the usage; and it is found among the Arabians, the Greeks, and the Persians. (See especially Q. Curt. Vit. Alex. 5:2; "Perticam, quae undique conspici posset, supra praetorium statuit, ex qua signum eminebat pariter omnibus conspicuum: observabatur ignis noctu, fiunus interdin.") The miracle was thus, in a certain sense, founded upon an existing custom, with the difference that God here gave the signals miraculously, which were wont to be given in a natural way by the human leaders of armies. He thus constituted himself the general of the host. Verse 21. - The Lord went before them . From Succoth at any rate; perhaps even on the journey from Rameses to Succoth. In a pillar of cloud . The pillar was seen - the presence of Jehovah, though unseen, was believed to be in it, and to move it. To go by day and night . Or, "so that they might march both by day and by night." Night marches are generally preferred by Orientals on account of the great heat of the days. The night-marches of the Israelites are again mentioned in Numbers 9:21 . Exodus 13:21

21 . went ] In the Heb. a ptcp., implying ‘went continually .’ 21, 22 . How Jehovah, in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night, guided the Israelites in their journeyings. For cloud, and fire, as symbols of the Divine presence, cf. on Exodus 3:2 , Exodus 9:28 , Exodus 19:9 ; Exodus 19:18 , Exodus 20:18 . The Pent., however, contains three representations of the Divine presence in the cloud, corresponding to the three sources: in J the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night precedes the Israelites continuously to guide them in the way (so here, Exodus 14:19 b, 24a, Numbers 14:14 b, Deuteronomy 1:33 ; comp. Nehemiah 9:12 ; Nehemiah 9:19 , Psalm 78:14 ): in E the pillar of cloud is not spoken of as a guide, but it descends from time to time and ‘stands’ at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, and Jehovah speaks in it to Moses (so Exodus 33:9 f., Numbers 11:25 ; Numbers 12:5 , Deuteronomy 31:15 ; cf. Psalm 99:7 ): in P (who does not speak of a ‘pillar’) the cloud covers the Tent of Meeting immediately upon its erection, and remains there, with fire in it by night, till the camp is to be moved, when it is lifted up above it ( Exodus 40:34-38 , Numbers 9:15-22 ; Numbers 10:11 f.: cf. v. 34, Exodus 14:14 [the words, ‘and thy cloud standeth over them’: comp. Psalm 105:39 ; also Isaiah 4:5 ], Leviticus 16:2 , Numbers 16:42 , and on Exodus 16:10 ).

The fiery cloud thus formed an imposing visible symbol of the spiritual presence of God, guiding (J), protecting (P), or (E) speaking in Israel, during its journey through the wilderness. But, as in other cases, the symbolism had no doubt some natural basis; and it is thought by Di., McNeile and others that it was suggested by the variously attested custom of a brazier filled with burning wood being borne along at the head of a caravan of pilgrims, or an army (see reff. in Di. and McN.), or of a chief having a fire blazing before his tent (T. H. Weir, Expositor , July 1910, p. 81 f.), or carried before him (cf. Ebers, Gosen , 530, 2544).