"lu the time of trouble shall ho hide me in his pavilion; in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me" (Pe. xxvii, 5). IV. Gummo, 'l'he pillar went before the camp of Israel "to lead them the way " (cf. Deut. i. 33). The cloud pointed the way in the daytime, the fire by night. The Church and the individual believer are similarly guided. He who seeks to know the will of God will not fail of direction. Providence opens the road. The light that streams from the Word shows the path of duty. "Thine ears shall hear a word behin,\ thee, saying, '!'his is the way: walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand and to the left" (Is. xxx. 21). V. ADAPTIVE. The pillar adapted itself to the circumstances of the people. In the daytime, when the sky was light, it took the form of cloud; in the night season, it shone as bright fire. Now it moved in front as a guiding beacon; again, it was spread as a grateful awning over the camp; at another time, it went behind, intercepting the enemy (eh. xiv. 19), Thus does God vary the aspects of his presence and the modes of his help with unfailing adaptation to the special needs of his people. He is the All- sufficient. VI. HOSTILE TO THE ENEMY.-He intercepts their pursuit; he hides his people from their fury; he makes their way dark to them; he frowns upon them, and discomfits them (eh. xiv. 19-26).-J. 0, Vers. 17-22. Fire and cloud. ".And the Lord went before them," etc. (Ex. xiii. 21). Israel might have been in Canaan within ten days. Reason why not is given xiii. 1 i. This however, not a reason for the forty years wandering: but only for the circuitous route by the desert of Sinai. The line of Israel's march for the first two days is soon given. They start from Rameses, capital of Goshen, a store city, recently built by the Hebrews, the king there possibly. The first stage was Succoth ("tents") perhaps a caravan station or military camp-a journey of about fifteen miles. Another fifteen miles to Etham on the edge of the desert. There roads, canals, now all to be left behind ; just there and then appeared the FIRE AND CLOUD. I. ITS NATURE, Point out the three leading theories, especially as the two earlier mentioned lead up to the third and the true. The phenomenon was : 1. Common natural fire, Seen as fire by night, as smoke by day. Perhaps the sacrificial fire of Israel preserved from primitive times. An ordinary caravan fire. Or such as was borne at the head of the Persian armies. 2. The same, but glorified by association with a religious idea ; viz., that God was in reality the Guide of his people, and that that was well represented by the fire at the head of the hosts. 3. .Altogether supernatural. God saw the need of Israel at that moment, and met it in his own superb manner. [ For full discussion of Ritualistic explanations, see Kurtz, vol. ii. 344-348, Eng. ed.] The phenomenon was a trinity in unity. It was one, not two, not one kind of pillar by night and another by day. It consisted of cloud, of fire (electric?) in the cloud, and of Jehovah in both (xiii. 21; xiv. 24). The last doubtless a manifestation of the" Angel- God" of the Old Testament. II. FORMS AND M0VEME?'ITS. 1. Forms. (1) Usually a pt?lar (xiii. 21). (2) .A wall, see xiv. 19, 20. Must have been a wall in this case, of perhaps more than a mile in length. A ,wall of cloud to Egypt, hiding the moon, the sea, and the advanced move- ments of the armies of Israel. When the cloud lifted, Israel was gone. On the other side, a mile or more of, as it were, electric fire, adding to the moon-illumination ...ywhich Israel passed through the sea. (3) A roof or an awning. See Num. x. 34; Ps. cv. 39 • 1 Cor. x.1, 2; and the very beautiful passage, Is. iv. 5, 6. 2. Movements. (1) Usually stationary-on the tabernacle-on the mercy-seat-sometimes filling the tabernacle, so that none could enter to minister. (2) Lifting, when Israel advanced. (3) Descending, when Israel was to rest Ill. SIGNIFICANCE. Israel could not have seen the fire-cloud for forty years without catching much of the meaning; but we more. The fire-cloud teaches that the Lord Jesus is: 1. Ever in and with the Church. The glory of Jehovah appeared in the cloud. 2. Jn two-fold glory; in the fire of holiness; in the cloud of mercy that tempers the blaze. He so appears to the individual soul-to the family-to the Church-to the nation-to the wider world. Note the special outbreakings from the cloud at certain sinful crises in Israel's history. 3. The leader of our pilgrimage. See C. We~ley's 314 THE BOOK OF EXODUS. [cH, XIV, 1---4,
hymn, in Wesley's Ool';ect·io~, 326. Yet some scope, then as now, eeems to have h,cen left for the play of 1ntell1gence (Num. x. 31). 4. Captain in our holy war. On Eg~·pt1an monuments generals are represented as flames, streaming in darkness, at tho head of armies. See the hymn beginning : "Forward be our watchword." " Burns the fiery pille.r At our e.rmy s head ; Who shell dream of shrinking, By our Capte.in led P " 5. Our wall of ,lefe'Tlre_. ~- Our canopy for oomfort. 7. ~ose interpositions n.re ever marked by wondrous timel·mess. It was on the "edge of the wilderness" that the fire-cloud fu-st appeared; and aft.er the desei:, journey, seems to have disappeared, save as it may have been represented by the Shechmah above the mercy seat, wh:ch assun:ud unwonted splendour at the dedication of the first temple.-R.