In Exodus 13 we see four crucial matters related to Israel’s exodus from Egypt; these are related to our spiritual experience and can be applied to our Christian life today.
First, the people of Israel were sanctified unto Jehovah; they were not only redeemed by Him but also sanctified unto Him, set aside unto Him based on His redemption (Exo. 13:2). In our Christian experience we need to be sanctified to the Lord, that is, separated unto Him to be saturated with Him, presenting ourselves with all we are to Him to be filled and saturated with Him.
Second, they went out of Egypt in the month of Abib, which denotes a new beginning of life with much sprouting and budding (Exo. 13:4). The Lord wants us to have a new beginning in life with Him every day and enjoying Him again and again so that every day would be a memorial unto Him; in this new beginning of life there should be no leaven, that is, we need to deal with any sin that the Lord exposes.
The third crucial matter in Exodus 13 is the fact that the people of Israel took the bones of Joseph, their forefather, with them to bury them in Canaan; this is a type of resurrection, showing that the people of Israel went out of Egypt in resurrection. In our Christian life we need to no longer live in our natural life but in the resurrection life of Christ which is in the Spirit with our spirit.
We need to allow the divine life to be imparted to every part of our inward being so that we would be made from “dead bones” into an army for God’s interest. Our exodus from the world, our genuine sanctification to the Lord, and our new beginning of a sinless life can be accomplished only by the resurrection life.
The fourth crucial thing we see in Exodus 13 is the Lord leading His people in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exo. 13:21). This points to the fact that the Lord is both the Spirit (typified by the cloud) and the word (typified by the fire enlightening us) to lead and guide us today.
In our Christian life today we have the Spirit within and the word of God without, and the Lord guides us day by day as we exercise our spirit to contact Him as the Spirit and to pray over His word for it to become living to us.
Conditions to have the Lord’s Leading and Guidance as seen in Exo. 13
In Exodus 13 we see that there are some conditions which needed to be met in order for the people of Israel to be under Jehovah’s constant leading and guidance. Jehovah didn’t guide them or lead them when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh; they had to go through certain things and fulfill certain conditions in order for them to have the Lord’s leading.
In our Christian life we need to fulfill certain conditions in order to have the Lord’s clear leading. If we spend time in the world and allow Satan to usurp our time, energy, and being with the things of the world, we cannot have the Lord’s clear leading.
Firstly, the people of Israel had to be sanctified unto Jehovah. In order for us to have God’s leading we need to be sanctified to the Lord. We need to separate ourselves unto Him from anything else so that we may be saturated with Him.
Secondly, the people of Israel had to have a new beginning with no leaven – Abib. For us to have the Lord’s leading we need to have the new beginning of a sinless life, that is, we need to have a new beginning every morning by enjoying the Lord and living a daily life in His enjoyment, confessing any sin He exposes and allowing Him to bud, sprout, and grow in us.
The third condition for the people of Israel to have God’s leading was to be in resurrection, as typified by them taking Joseph’s bones out of Egypt to bury them in the good land. In order for us to be led by the Lord we must not be in our natural man and live in the flesh but be in resurrection. “Our bones” need to be resurrected and moving.
We need to exercise our spirit and allow the Lord to impart His resurrection life into every part of our being so that our whole being would be brought into resurrection. When we are in resurrection, we have the Lord’s clear leading through His Spirit and His living word.
Therefore, for us to be qualified to receive the Lord’s leading and guidance, we need to be sanctified to the Lord, have the new beginning of a sinless life, and be in resurrection.
Lord Jesus, we separate ourselves unto You from anything else so that we may be saturated with You. Sanctify us for Your purpose. Lord, give us a new beginning with You every morning. Shine on us and expose any sin or corruption. Oh Lord, spread as the resurrection life from our mingled spirit into every part of our inner being. We want to be qualified to have Your leading and guidance so that we may be Your people serving You.
Having the Lord’s Leading and Guidance through the Spirit and the Living Word of God
All throughout their journey in the wilderness “Jehovah went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them on the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might go by day and by night” (Exo. 13:21). The people of Israel knew when to move on, where to go, and when to stop and rest, because Jehovah in the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud was leading them.
In our Christian life the cloud signifies the Spirit and the fire (which is for enlightening) signifies the Word of God. Today we can have God’s living leading through His Spirit with our spirit or through the living word of God (1 Cor. 10:1-2; Psa. 119:105).
These two pillars that were guiding the people of Israel were one pillar which was of cloud during the day and of fire for enlightening during the night. In our Christian life when the sky is clear God is the Spirit to lead us and guide us, and when the sky is dark, He is the living word to shine on us. Day and night we are being led by the Lord through the Spirit and the word.
God Himself is the Spirit and the Word, and the Word is also the Spirit (see John 4:24; 1:1; 6:63; Eph. 6:17). The Lord is now the Spirit with our spirit (2 Cor. 3:17; 1 Cor. 6:17); whenever we exercise our spirit to touch the Lord, we have His instant leading and guidance through the Spirit.
Christ is embodied in His word; the words that He speaks to us – His living words – are spirit and are life (John 6:63). The Spirit is abstract and mystical, but the word of God is substantial and tangible. When we exercise our spirit to pray and read the word of God, His word becomes living to us, and we have the Lord’s leading and guidance.
The Lord as the Spirit is now embodied in His words, and when we read the word of God with the exercise of our spirit, we receive more of the divine life with the divine guidance. In our Christian life today there should be no difference between day and night because during the day we have the Spirit to guide us and at night.
When we feel we are in a “spiritual night”, we need to call on the name of the Lord and exercise our spirit to pray over His word, and the Lord’s light will shine bright on us. Whenever we call on the name of the Lord, our night becomes day, our darkness turns to light, and any death is swallowed by life.
When we come to the Word of God with the exercise of our spirit and we contact the Lord as the Spirit during the day, we have the Lord’s clear leading and definite guidance.
Lord Jesus, we want to have Your clear leading and guidance day by day. Keep us in Your word, exercising our spirit to pray over the Word of God until they become spirit and life to us. Lord, we exercise our spirit to touch You right now as the Spirit with our spirit. Be so real and living to us. Guide us and lead us by Your Spirit with our spirit and through Your living word. O Lord Jesus, we call on Your name to be freed from any darkness and have Your leading in our day-to-day situations and things!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Dick Taylor’s sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Exodus (pp. 314-317), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Exodus (1), week 6 / msg 6, The Exodus from Egypt and the Crossing of the Red Sea.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Glory! Glory! Christ is life in me, / As the Spirit leading constantly! / What was weak is mighty, / What was dark is light, / Glory! Glory! Christ is life in me! (Song on God’s Leading)
# Jesus, O living Word of God, / Wash me and cleanse me with Your blood / So You can speak to me. / Just let me hear Your words of grace, / Just let me see Your radiant face, / Beholding constantly. (Song on God’s Living Word)
# Pray with one accord in spirit, / Supplicate relatedly; / Seek the Lord, His mind, His leading, / In the Spirit’s harmony. (Hymns #779)
About aGodMan
Both the cloud and the fire are symbols of God, for He is both the Spirit and the Word. Furthermore, the Word is also the Spirit (John 6:63; Eph. 6:17). The Lord, the Spirit, and the Word are one to lead us and guide us continually. When we are clear, God guides us through the Spirit. But when we are not clear, He guides us through the Word. As the Word is made clear to us, it becomes the Spirit in our experience.
Whether as the cloud or the fire, God’s guidance is always a pillar. In the Bible a pillar denotes strength. Hence, God’s guidance is strong; it stands upright and supports weight. By means of such definite guidance God led the children of Israel. (Witness Lee, Life-study of Exodus, pp. 316-317)
O Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus! How good it is to call upon the name of the Lord. Not only are we brought into His sweet presence so dear, but much more, He becomes alive within us, to lead us and to guide us into His purpose for us, the fulfillment of His heart’s desire. We have God leading us by His living Word without and by His Spirit of life within, so that we can remain in the light of the day, as He is in the light. When darkness come to us, it is good to know that by exercising our mingled spirit, through calling upon His name, Lord Jesus, and by pray reading His Word, the Spirit come to enliven us, and enlighten us again from within, to continue our journey from Egypt to the good land of Cannon, the land flowing with milk and honey, signifying the all-inclusive Christ to us as the One to meet our every need, in the fulfillment of God’s heart desire. Hallelujah! O Lord Jesus, how we have come to love calling upon Your wondrous name. Amen.