Exodus 13:17-22--Pillars of Cloud and Fire

Pillars of Cloud and Fire
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” 18 But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. 19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” 20 And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 21 And 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, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

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I wanted to talk about this part of chapter 13 separately because it was not directly related to the 10th plague, but instead helps us transition to the next part of the narrative where God leads His people out of Egypt by way of them facing obstacles and enemies on every side so that only He can rescue them once again.  Just like us, the people would need constant reminders of the LORD's power and provision, even though they had a physical representation of His glory and majesty living among them.  It was something that every other person from every other nation would say, "WOW!" too, but we get the impression that not that long after starting their journey that the people took God's presence for granted and largely ignored the fact that He was right there with them.  Let's keep this in mind as we read about the Exodus as God leads His people out of slavery (like our slavery to sin) through the desert (like our time that we sojourn here on this earth, saved, but not in heaven yet) and into the Promised Land that has been prepared for them (like the New Heaven and the New Earth that await us).  We too have the presence of God not just living among us, but dwelling in us, because the Holy Spirit was given by Christ to the Church.  We may not see Him at work like we see the "Shekinah glory" (that's the name given to the "pillar of cloud" and "pillar of fire").  Jesus is compared to the Shekinah glory by the apostle John in John 1 when the apostle says, "14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."  One of the names given to Jesus in the Old Testament that we don't see used that often in the New Testament is Immanuel--God with Us.  While we may believe that idea to be great and awesome, it was also frightening and awful for those that were sinful because they lived in fear of God's holiness that could not coexist with their sin.

We'll definitely come back to the Shekinah glory a few more times as we study the Bible, most notably is probably at the Transfiguration of Christ and a couple other places, but for now, let's get back to the narrative of the day so that we don't miss what God was telling His people, including us.

Anyone who knew the geography would have taken the "express route" from Egypt to Canaan by way of the Negev desert through the land of the Philistines (much the same as we saw Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob do in the book of Genesis).  But God was intentionally going to lead them on a different path that didn't make sense to them.  God knew what the land of the Philistines was like and what the hearts of his people were like.  They desired to safety and security, even if that meant being protected by a nation that put them in chains and made them slaves.  Are we that different?  We don't like confrontation and we like to take what we think is going to be the easiest path, but God often has to lead us in a different direction because He knows the obstacles that we would face in that direction would pull us back into our slavery to sin or that we need more time to prepare us for the blessings that He has in store for us, because the process of sanctification and being made in the image of Christ is not something that is quick.  In fact, we'll see that part of God's plan was that nearly a whole generation of people had to die in the desert because they were rebellious and not fit for the Promised Land.

God led the people of Israel out by way of the desert to the Red Sea, and they were armed for battle.  I love the next verse as well that tells us that they remembered to take the bones of Joseph with them as he had given instructions that when his people one day left Egypt and returned to the Promised Land of Canaan, that they were to take his bones with him and bury him next to his father (Jacob), grandfather (Isaac), and great-grandfather (Abraham), and his step-mother (Leah), grandmother (Rebekah), and great-grandmother (Sarah).  We see him commended for his faith with respect to these instructions that he had given in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11, though I find it interesting that in such a time as this when the Egyptians were trying to drive out the Israelites and make them leave in the middle of the night that someone remembered Joseph's request and said, "We're not leaving without the bones of Joseph."  Certainly there was no one alive after 400 years that personally remembered the instructions, so my only suspicion is that the book of Genesis was an oral history that was passed on from generation to generation and it was all that reminded the Hebrews of their origins and cultural identity as slaves in Egypt and that everyone knew about Joseph and the role that played in bringing them to Egypt and the oath that he made his people swear to him regarding his bones and method of burial when they were to leave the land.  We too can pass on the Word of God and the word of our testimonies to each successive generation so that they too will remember in such a time of crisis, and even if the people had forgotten, God did not forget and God was not going to leave any man behind.  Joseph belonged to Him and his final resting place for His bones was going to be with his people in the land the land of the covenant.

Then a simple, but profound statement that summarizes the whole of the story of the Exodus from that point forward, "​21 And 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, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people."  As I said before, this must have been both awesome and awful, but as much as I would love to believe that somehow living in the very presence of the Lord drew them to focus on Him and worship Him and enjoy His presence, I know that is not the story of these people or us.  If we take an honest look at the Exodus and the life of these people wandering in the wilderness, we will see much of ourselves and wonder, "Why would God choose a people like this for Himself?  Surely He could have made a better choice?"  And then we realize with even a small amount of humility that this is the same statement that should be made about us.  God chooses the foolish things of the this world to confound the wise and we are told that even the angels wonder and marvel at the gospel and both the love that God shows towards us and the transforming power of the gospel.  God does not love us because of who we are, but because of who He is ,but we cannot separate that love from His holiness.  At this point in history, God let His presence live among men in a way that was clear to them that He was not like them, but one day the Lord would take on flesh and make His dwelling among us and be a man like us, though also not like us because He would be sinless and holy--the one who was fully God and fully man, Christ Jesus, the Lord.  We now follow after Him in the same way that these people would follow the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire through the wilderness.

here's a song I learned at camp that I think might sum up what I think we should glean from this passage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1F3jNTeMNw