#53a. Saul and Agag. Mordecai and Haman. (I.Samuel.xiv. & Esther). (Conclusion)

     We have seen that because Amalek’s hand was laid upon the throne of the Lord war was declared from generation to generation.  Let us pursue this vital subject further.  It will be remembered that after Saul had been king for some time, we read:--

     “So Saul took possession of the kingdom over Israel, and made war round about against all his enemies, against Moab, and against the sons of Ammon, and against Edom . . . . . and smote the Amalekites” (I Sam. xiv. 47, 48).

     Following this general deliverance of Israel from their hereditary foes comes the more explicit command to:--

“Smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not” (I Samuel xv. 3).

     The story is well-known to us.  Saul smote the Amalekites, but he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive.  Saul and the people also refused to destroy the best of the sheep and the oxen, and “all that was good”.

     The flesh, the old man, typified by Amalek, is too often spared to-day.  In the sight of God there is “no good thing” in the flesh, but it is rare to find that believer who is so taught of God that he has reached the height of  Philippians iii.  and, making no comparison between the flesh cultured and the flesh manifestly depraved, repudiates it entirely and rejoices to stand beneath the Banner of the cross.  Many who condemn Saul would be found sharing this “good” thing of the flesh.  Too often we add to our sin by hypocrisy.  Saul said:--

     “The people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, TO SACRIFICE UNTO THE LORD thy God in Gilgal” (I.Sam.xv.21).

     “In Gilgal”!  The place where the reproach of Egypt was rolled away (Josh.v.9), where the rite of circumcision which sets forth the repudiation of the flesh (Col. ii. 11) was solemnly carried out by all Israel before they set foot in the land of promise, there above all places would Saul offer the sacrifice of the flesh and dishonour the Lord.  This was to go in the way of Cain.  The very next thing that Samuel is instructed to do after this is to anoint David king (I Samuel xvi.).  That the throne of the kings of Israel could be spoken of as “the throne of the Lord”  I.Chron.xxix.23  makes clear:--

“Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father.”

     The purpose of God foreshadowed in the earthly kingdom of Israel will be brought to a glorious conclusion by the Lord Jesus Christ.  When He takes to Himself His great power and reigns, He will not rest until all enemies are abolished.  There will be no sparing of Amalek then.  Those readers who have grasped the significance of the two seeds (see volume XIII, page 52 and the pamphlet “The Reconciliation of All Things”) will perceive it in operation here, for Amalek though descended from Abraham was not counted as the seed, for that line came through Isaac and Jacob, whereas Amalek descended from Esau.

Mordecai   and   Haman.

     One other occasion is given in Scripture to show the character of Amalek and to foreshadow the end.  The book of Esther records that Haman was advanced by the king above all the princes that were with him, and that all the king’s servants bowed down before him.  It further says that “Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence” (Esther iii. 2).  Why was this?

     “Haman was the son of Hammedatha the AGAGITE” (Esther.iii.1).

     Haman was the descendant of one of the Amalekite kings, and Josephus (ant. xi. 6, 5) calls him an Amalekite.  What was this man’s attitude towards Israel?

    “Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus” (Esther iii. 6).

     As a result of Esther’s noble intervention, Haman the Agagite is first compelled to do honour to Mordecai, and then to suffer the fate upon his own gallows that he had planned for the Jew.  We cannot say that Haman was a descendant of that Agag who was spared by Saul, but typically we can see that in the sparing of one Amalekite in the early days of Israel’s kingdom, Saul jeopardized the whole nation under the reign of Ahasuerus.  So must it be with the flesh.

     “He that soweth to his flesh shall of his flesh reap corruption” (Gal. vi. 8).

     “Because the minding of the flesh is enmity against God” (Rom.viii.7).

     It certainly is extremely suggestive to read the genealogy of Mordecai in  Esther ii. 5:--

     “Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite.”

     Saul, who so signally failed concerning Agag, is of the same line as Mordecai who so signally succeeded.  Both were of the line of Kish, a Banjaminite.  Saul loses his kingdom, and David is sought out and anointed immediately after the failure of Saul concerning Agag.  Mordecai, however, dispossess the Amalekite, and succeeds to his office:--

     “For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed” (Esther x. 3).

     This foreshadows the purpose of the Lord and the happy results that will follow the casting down of all opposition and the introduction of that perfect day when God will be all in all.  The throne of God and the purposes connected therewith have been assailed.  Satan is the arch rebel, and the principalities and powers directly under him are the Amalekties of the church of the one body.  Just as Amalek barred the way towards the land of promise, so in the heavenly places are the opposing principalities and powers.  There our conflict lies.

     This conflict of the age is figured throughout Scripture under various titles.  The Canaanites were to be utterly destroyed by the conquering Israelites.  Each one may see in these ancient foes the sketch of his own.  Each dispensation, too, has somewhat parallel marks.  Blessed be God, Satan is to be overcome, and the words of  Zech. xiv. 21  are to be understood in their fullest and highest sense:--

“In that day there shall be no more Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.”

#53. Amalek, type of the flesh. Aaron and Hur, types of fellowship (Exodus xvii. & xviii.).

     “THEN CAME AMALEK.” — In the generations of Esau (Genesis xxxvi.) we find that Esau and his descendants are the Edomites;  “Esau is Edom” (verses 1 & 8).  In verse 12 we learn that Amalek was the grandson of Esau.  Both Israel and Amalek therefore could trace their descent from Abraham, and herein lies the significance of the type.  Amalek stand for the flesh.  This typical feature is repeated.  Going back no further than Abraham we find two sons — Ishmael who stands for the flesh, and Isaac for the spirit.  The church of the Galatians provides a commentary upon the typical character of these two sons and their relation to the flesh and spirit.

     Coming to Isaac we find that he also had two sons — Esau and Jacob, and once again the type is clear.  The epistle to the Hebrews provides explanations of the meaning of the typical character of these two sons.

     Two others must be included, viz., Moab and Ammon, both the children of Lot, and preeminently the children of shame.  When we speak of Ishmael, Edom, Moab, Ammon and Amalek, we enumerate those foes of Israel who sought to bar the way and prevent their entry into the land of promise.

     This is exactly what “the flesh” in a believer endeavours to do, Israel, when bondmen in Egypt, when confronted by the Red Sea, when in need of bread and water, were called upon neither to fight nor to fend for themselves.  In all these experiences they typified the passive position of the believer under grace. The believer, however, has a warfare before him, a conflict that lasts until this life finishes, the conflict between flesh and spirit.

     The word “fight”, apart from the instance in  Exod. i. 10  which voiced the fears of Pharaoh, is used in two settings only:--

(1).  OF  THE  LORD. — “The Lord shall fight for you” (Exod. xiv. 14).

                                           “The Lord fighteth for them” (Exod. xiv. 25).

(2).  OF  ISRAEL. — “Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel” (Exod. xvii. 8).

                                    “Go out, and fight with Amalek” (Exod. xvii. 9).

                                    “So Joshua . . . . . fought with Amalek” (Exod. xvii. 10).

     The one conflict of the believer after redemption is with the flesh.  What was the occasion of the fight?  We believe it was twofold.  The word “then” in the sentence, “then came Amalek”, appears to be connected with:--

(1).     The   provision   of   water.

     In a country like Arabia water is precious, and its possession eagerly sought.  Parallel cases may be found in  Gen. xxi. 25,  where we find Abimelech’s servants violently taking away the wells of water from Abraham.  Deborah’s song includes a reference to this perennial cause of conflict:--

     “Instead of the shouting of the archers among the wells, There they laud the righteous acts of Jehovah” (Judges v. 11, Companion Bible).

(2).     The   tempting   of   the   Lord.

     “Then” reads impmediately after the question, “Is the Lord among us or not?”.  The flesh takes immediate advantage of the beginnings of unbelief, of murmuring and complaining.

     Amalek was overcome by two means:--

The  intercession  of  Moses.

The  warfare  under  Joshua.

     Bishop Hall’s comment here is:--

     "I do not hear Moses say to this Joshua, Amalek is come up against us, it matters not whether thou go up against him or not;  or if thou go, whether alone  or with company, or if accompanied, whether with many or few, strong or weak;  or if strong, whether they fight or no:  I will pray on the hill;  but choose us out men, and go fight."

     In the conflict with the flesh the weapons must be those of God’s appointment, and neither prayer alone, nor conflict alone can prevail.  As Moses’ hands were raised, so Israel’s fight succeeded.  As Moses’ hands sank, so Israel’s fight failed.

     Three noteworthy features close the narrative:--

The command to write the record in a book.

The revelation of the name Jehovah-nissi.

The reason given for Amalek’s extermination.

     “And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven” (Exod. xvii. 14).

     Joshua was the instrument in the hand of the Lord to divide the land of promise for an inheritance to Israel.  His greatest activities were spent in the subjugation of the Canaanites, and all those who opposed the possession of the land.  This possession was not to be considered complete until Amalek had been destroyed, Moses reminds Israel:--

     “Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of the Land of Egypt:  How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, when thou wast faint and weary, and he feared not God.  Therefore it shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven;  thou shalt not forget it” (Deut. xxv. 17-19).

     The name Jehovah-nissi is the third Jehovah title revealed in Scripture.  The first is concerned with the offering of Isaac, the great type of Christ and His redemption, Jehovah-jireh, “the Lord will provide”.  A friend, whose judgment we hold in high esteem, says that Jehovah-jireh means “Jehovah appeared” (Gen.xxii.14).  The second is connected with the overthrow of the Egyptians (type of the world), Jehovah-ropheka, “the Lord that healeth thee” (Exod.xv.26).  The third title is connected with the destruction of Amalek (type of the flesh), Jehovah-nissi, “the Lord my banner” (Exod. xvii. 15).  The third title is the first of three that suggests the believer’s active appropriation:--

     “The Lord my banner” (Exod. xvii. 15).

     “The Lord my shepherd” (Psa. xxiii. 1).

     “The Lord our righteousness” (Jer. xxiii. 6).

     The word “banner” (Hebrew nes) is the word used for the “pole” upon which the brazen serpent was lifted (Numb. xxi. 8, 9).  If we turn to the occasion we shall find that it is a repetition of Rephidim.  The people speak against God and against Moses because of the lack of water.  Jehovah-nissi is this time set forth in symbol, and this symbol Christ takes to Himself in  John iii. 14:--

     “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.”

     The “banner” under which we must fight our “Amalek” is the cross of Christ, the serpent on the pole, suggesting in type the deep doctrine of  Rom. vi. 6  and  Gal. v. 24.   It is the cross of Christ, seen not as the means of our redemption, but of our victory over the flesh.  This is the burden of  Romans vi., vii., viii.  and  Galatians v.   In the margin of the A.V. of  Exod. xvii. 16  we read:--

     "Heb. the hand upon the throne of the Lord."

     The translation both of the A.V. and the R.V. shows that those responsible believed “the hand” to be the Lord’s hand, and therefore translated the passage “the Lord hath sworn”.

     The Companion Bible note reads:--

     "Surely the hand (lifted up) upon the banner of Jah (is to swear):" &c.

     The substitution of “banner” for “throne” is explained by Rotherham in his Emphasized Version as:--

     "Ginsburg thinks it should be as follows:  These are readings suggested by context and verse, but not supported by the Ancient Versions" (G. Intro. pp. 162, 170).

     Rotherham does not endorse this “suggestion”, but translates:--

     "Because of a hand against the throne of Yah."

     The hand that was laid upon the throne of the Lord was the hand of Amalek.  With all their failures Israel were the Lord’s anointed.  When Balaam was brought to curse Israel, he had to say:--

     “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob . . . . . the shout of a king is among them.”

     “His king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.”

     “Edom shall be a possession.”

     “And when he looked upon Amalek, he took up his parable and said, Amalek was the first of the nations, but his latter end is even to perish” (Numbers xxiii. & xxiv.).

     Here Agag is mentioned in connection with Israel’s king and kingdom.  This was a title similar to that of Pharaoh or Abimelech, and used by all the kings of Amalek.

(To   be   concluded)

#52. That Rock was Christ (Exod. xvii. 1-7).

     Leaving the Wilderness of Sin, and passing Dophkah, and Alush (Numb.xxxiii.12-14), the people, now miraculously fed by manna, come to Rephidim.

     “And there was no water for the people to drink” (Exod. xvii. 1).

     Surely we shall here find a story of faith and patience, of lessons learned, of experience that led to hope, and hope that made not ashamed!  Alas, no!  Israel who had seen the waters of the Red Sea form a wall on either side of them at the command of God, who had experienced the sweetening of the waters of Marah, who had been led to the twelve wells at Elim, who had received a daily promise of manna, failed at the first test.

     Have not we also failed in similar circumstances?  Have there not been occasions in the past when we have passed through some trial in which after serious misgivings and unbelief the hand of the Lord has been revealed, and have we not at some later period been brought face to face with a situation almost identical, and have we not as surely failed to rise to the test of faith as did Israel of old?  The repeated trials of our pilgrimage are so many indications of failure.  Abraham was never tested twice in the matter of the offering of Isaac, for he responded to the test, but after his sojourn in Egypt we find him returning to the spot between Bethel and Hai:--

     “Unto the place of the altar which he had made there at the first”  (Gen. xii. 8 & xiii. 4).

     Under the pressure of famine he had failed.  The second time however he overcame, for immediately after his return to Bethel and Hai the conflict arose which resulted in Lot choosing Sodom, and Abraham receiving confirmation of the promise of the land and the seed (Gen. xiii. 5-18).

     At Rephidim Israel failed to remember the wondrous works of God:--

     “Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink” (Exod. xvii. 2).

     So great was their murmuring and so threatening their attitude that they not only tempted God, but were at the point of stoning their leader.  The Lord commanded Moses to:--

     “Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel;  and the rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thy hand and go.  Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock of Horeb;  and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink.  And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel” (Exod.xvii.5,6).

     The word “smite” occurs in  Exod. iii. 20  of the smiting of Egypt, and in  xii.12  of the smiting of the firstborn.   In  Zech. xiii. 7  it is used prophetically of the offering of Christ, “smite the shepherd”;  and again in  Isa. liii. 4,  “smitten of God”.  We learn from  I Cor. x. 3, 4  that the smitten rock was typical of the Lord:--

     “And did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed, and THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST.”

     Some interpret this passage to mean that the water which flowed that day from the smitten rock actually followed the wanderings of the Israelites from that onward.   Deuteronomy ix. 21  speaks of a brook that descended out of the mount, while  Psa. lxxviii. 15, 16  says:--

     “He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of great depths.  He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.”

     Wall in his Critical Notes suggests that this river thus formed descended from Horeb to the sea, and that for the remaining 39 years of Israel’s wanderings they kept near to its channel until in the last year of their pilgrimage they came to Ezion-gaber (Numb. xxxiii. 36), a part of the Red Sea on the Arabian side.  It was not until after this that we once more read of Israel’s need of water.  Others, seeing that there is no word for “them” in the original of  I Cor. x. 4,  read the passage as though it means:--

     “They drank of the spiritual rock which followed the sending of the spiritual bread from heaven.”

     Yet others, seeing the word “spiritual” before the word “rock”, teach that we are not to understand this statement of the literal water, but of Christ, Who accompanied the children of Israel on all the journeyings, providing for all their needs all the time.  Our own belief embraces the first and the third interpretation.

     There was literally a river formed by the cleaving of the rocks, which made a provision for the whole period of Israel’s pilgrimage.

     This literal provision in turn is typical of that spiritual rock, Christ, Who has promised never to leave nor forsake His people.

     The names given to this place, Massah and Meribah, perpetuate Israel’s tempting of God and their striving with Moses.  The “tempting” of the Lord is contained in the challenge:

     “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exod. xvii. 7).

     Do we not trace the same spirit at work as led the Lord Jesus to say:--

     “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe?” (John.iv.48).

     In the case in point (John iv. 48) the nobleman did believe the bare word of the Lord, without signs and wonders, but with the generality it was not so.  The fame of the Lord had gone throughout the length and breadth of the land;  the leper had been cleansed, the demon-possessed had been delivered, the dead had been raised (Matthew iv.-xi.).  Yet after all these evidences the Scribes and Pharisees said:--

     “Master, we would  SEE  A  SIGN  from Thee!” (Matt. xii. 38).

     Israel too in the wilderness had signs in abundance, yet with the pillar of cloud before their eyes, and the table spread in the wilderness, they rose up and said.

     “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exod. xvii. 7).

     What a blessed contrast is seen in the case of the prophet Habakkuk.  To him the word had come:--

     “The vision is yet for an appointed time . . . . . wait for it . . . . . the just shall live by his faith” (Hab. ii. 3, 4).

     We see how this man “lived by his faith” by the closing verses of  chapter iii.:

     “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines;  the labour of the olive shall fail;  and the fields shall yield no meat;  the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Hab. iii. 17, 18).

     Here is a contrast with Israel in the wilderness.  The one tempted the Lord in the presence of want, the other trusted Him.  For ourselves we would seek the higher lesson.  Not merely to trust the Lord because we know that in spite of appearances He will supply, but to trust Him, as Job did, saying “though He slay me, yet will I trust Him”.  To trust Him as the three Hebrew youths did when they told Nebuchadnezzar that even if the Lord did not deliver them from the burning fiery furnace, yet would they trust and obey.  To accustom oneself to look for signs may be an evidence of unbelief.  To the church the word comes:--

“We walk by faith, not by sight” (II Cor. v. 7).

#51. Manna. The Gift of God (Exodus xvi.).

     The necessities of this life are frequently summed up under the phrase “bread and water”, to which we must add “raiment” (I Tim. vi. 8).  It will be found that in the pilgrimage of Israel, type of the earthly walk of all the Lord’s redeemed people, these three items come before us with some degree of prominence.

     “Water” figures at Marah in  Exodus xv.,  and again at Rephidim in  chapter xvii.   The question of the provision of “bread” for the pilgrimage occupies the whole of the intervening  chapter xvi.   The murmurers remember the flesh pots of Egypt and that they then did eat “bread to the full” (xvi. 3), but the bread of Egypt must give place to the “bread of heaven” for all those who walk the pilgrim’s way.  It will be remembered that the hasty departure of Israel out of Egypt led to the institution of a new kind of bread:--

     “And the people took their dough before it was leavened” (Exod.xii.34), 

and this apparent accident was overruled to emphasize the lesson that the heavenly pilgrimage cannot be sustained with the bread of Egypt, and so the new food provided by God is called “bread from heaven” (Exod. xvi. 4).   Psalm.lxxviii.25  calls this bread “angel’s food”.  Manna, the name given to this bread from heaven, first meets us in  Exod. xvi. 15:--

     “And when the children of Israel first saw it, they said one to another, ‘It is manna’, for they wist not what it was.”

     It is usual to explain the meaning of the word “manna” by saying that it is the Hebrew word uttered by Israel as a question, “What is this?”.  The Hebrew reads:--

     “When the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another man-hu for they did not know mah-hu.”

     The A.V. gives an alternative meaning in the margin, reading:--

     “Or what is this? or it is a portion.”

     The Hebrew word man signifies a portion or a gift.  Helen Spurrell’s translation reads, "It is the gift, for they knew not its name".  Aaron Pick in his Bible Students’ Concordance reads MANNA MON, a gift.  The marginal note in Newberry’s Bible is man-hu, i.e., in Chaldee what is it?  In Hebrew it is an appointed portion.  Parkhurst quotes from Bates in Grit. Heb. to the effect that:--

     "The children of Israel said man-hu this (is) a particular species, a peculiar thing, for they knew not what it was."

     This comes under manah, “to distribute”, and so includes the word “kind” of  Gen. i. 11, 12, etc.,  the idea referred to above of “species” and also a distributed portion or gift.  Urquhart’s comment is:

     "It is the name which has enshrined the surprise and joy of deliverance from death … when it was picked up and tasted, the words of Moses flashed upon them and the heart of Israel was swayed as the heart of one man … ‘It is a gift’.  It was a happy title, and the Scripture thankfully records it."

     We believe the meaning of the word manna in  Exodus xvi.  is “It is a gift”, but seeing that the commonly accepted rendering is fairly strongly held, we felt it necessary to show the authority we have for departing from the traditional meaning.  We notice that this bread from heaven was a special provision for the wilderness:--

     “Until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan” (Exod. xvi. 35).

     “And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten the old corn of the land;  neither had the children of Israel manna any more” (Josh. v. 12).

     During the days of our pilgrimage here the Lord provides for our spiritual needs to suit the circumstances, but we are ever to remember that when this life ceases, and we enter into the life to come, the blessings and mercies of the days of our pilgrimage will appear small when compared with the exceeding riches of grace and glory that shall then be enjoyed.  There is a sad addition to the story of  Exodus xvi.  in  Numb. xi. 6:--

     “But now our soul is dried away;  there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.”

     “This manna!” the gift of God, the bread from heaven, angel’s food!  To complete the sad evidence against these people we read in  Numb. xxi. 5:--

     “Our soul loatheth this light bread.”

     The word “light” means “exceedingly light”, and the word “loathe” means “to be weary”, as Rebekah said:--

     “I am weary of my life because of the children of Heth” (Gen.xxvii.46).

     It is a sad thing when the heart grows weary of the Lord’s heavenly provision for His people, yet the same liability to turn in heart away from Christ to the things that have been left behind is not the malady merely of a past generation.  It is with us still.  The man who could say he counted all things loss did so because of “the excellency of the knowledge of Christ”, and he could add:--

     “This one thing i do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto the things which are before, i press . . . . .” (Phil. iii. 8-14).

     Those, on the contrary, who said “there is nothing at all besides this manna” and who eventually sank so low as to “loathe” and call “contemptible” the bread from heaven, had prepared the way for this rebellious spirit by an unholy remembrance.  Unlike Paul, who forgot those things that were behind, these said:--

     “We remember the fish . . . . . the cucumbers, and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlick” (Numb.xi.5).

     They remembered the savouries, the tasty morsels, and were not satisfied with the simple fare for the heavenly pilgrimage:  Is there no lesson here for ourselves?  They forgot the bitterness of hard bondage which had caused the cry to reach heaven (Exod. ii. 23).  This people said on another occasion:--

     “Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt” (Numb.xiv.4), 

but the inspired comment, given by Nehemiah, is:--

     “In their rebellion they appointed them a captain to return to THEIR BONDAGE” (Neh. ix. 17).

     If at any time the old nature seeks to turn the face of the pilgrim back to the world he has left behind, it will call to remembrance the pleasures (the leek, the onion, the garlick), but will not remind of the awful bondage and bitterness.  We are not left to the evident analogy of the type to show that the manna set forth the Lord Jesus, for with unmistakable directness He Himself has taught the lesson:--

     “Our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”  “Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead.  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die.”  “I am the bread of life.”  “This is that bread which came down from heaven;  not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead;  he that eateth of this bread shall live for the age” (John vi. 31, 48-50, 58).

     Step by step we shall find Israel’s history unfolding the all-sufficiency of the Son of God for all things.  His one sacrifice as the great Passover was all sufficient for our deliverance.  Identification with Him breaks the threefold dominion of sin, death and law.  His cross makes every Marah sweet, and He, the great gift of God, supplies all our needs unto the very border of the promised land.  The experiences of the Exodus are to be repeated in the near future.  The sore judgments of the Revelation echo the plagues of Egypt.  In an earlier article we saw that the crossing of the Red Sea was in its turn a type of the future, and now we shall find that the miraculous supply of bread from heaven will be repeated:--

     “And to the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished” (Rev. xii. 14).

     In our articles on The Sermon on the Mount we drew attention to a clause in the prayer taught therein, viz., “Give us this day our daily bread”.  “Daily” in Greek is epiousios, from epi = upon, and ousios = coming.  The true rendering of the prayer therefore is, “Give us this day the bread which cometh down upon us”, i.e., the manna.  We read of “the hidden manna” in  Rev. ii. 17.   Some of the manna which fell in the wilderness was placed in the ark.

     “That they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt” (Exod. xvi. 32).

     The overcomer in Pergamos was strengthened by the fact that the God Who could sustain His children for forty years in the wilderness could once again give all needed supplies both spiritual and physical, and even though the edict should go forth that none should be allowed to buy or sell who had not the mark of the beast, even then the Lord would provide while witness was necessary.

     Stored up in the Ark of the Covenant were three precious witnesses of the fulness of Christ;  (1) the unbroken tables of the law, speaking of His perfect obedience, (2) the rod that budded, speaking of His undying priesthood, and (3) the golden pot that had the manna, speaking of His faithful provision throughout the whole of life’s pilgrimage:--

     “Jesus said, ‘I am the bread of life:   he that cometh to Me shall never hunger;   and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst’.”

     “Lord, evermore give us this bread” (John vi. 34, 35).

#50. Marah before Elim (Exod. xv. 23-27).

     Stamped upon the whole course of the purpose of the ages is the lesson taught in our title, Marah before Elim.  It is found in the expressions “No cross, no crown”, and “Suffering before glory”.  Man was created a living soul, and was of the earth earthy.  In the resurrection man shall possess a spiritual body, and bear the image of the heavenly.  The earthly period of man’s life is set in the school of experience and of the knowledge of good and evil.  Israel, as we have seen, went down into the bondage of Egypt before they entered into possession of the promised land.  In all cases, whether of creation, Israel, church or individual, the remedy for all the ill is found in Christ.

     As we read the song of Moses and the response of Miriam in  Exodus xv.,  we feel the glow of triumph and the sense of victory.  It is something in the nature of an anti-climax that meets us in:

     “And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously;  the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea . . . . . and they went three days into the wilderness, and found no water” (xv. 22).

     We are conscious that such would be a severe test.  Three days’ journey in the vicinity of the Red Sea without water would be well-nigh intolerable, and by the end of the third day the sense of triumph that had burst forth into song became dimmed with the feelings of mistrust:--

     “And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter:  therefore the name of it was called Marah.  And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?” (verses 23 and 24).

     Here is the first murmuring of the people after leaving Egypt, a murmuring that was to grow and produce the fearful fruits of unbelief:--

     “The waters covered their enemies:  there was not one of them left.  Then believed they His words:  they sang His praise.  They soon forgat His works:   they waited not for His counsel” (Psa. cvi. 11-13).

     Here in this Psalm the transition is as sudden as it is in  Exodus xv.   The scene of Israel’s failure at Marah is said to be the result of forgetfulness.  As remembrance of the bondage of Egypt and their deliverance from their enemies receded, so the sensual remembrance of the land of bondage revived.  This people, who so quickly “forgat” the Lord, could say:--

     “We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely;  the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick” (Numb. xi. 5).

     This “remembrance” is fatal to the overcomer.  Those whose remembrance is thus expressed perished in the wilderness.  Lot’s wife could not leave the doomed city without “looking back”.  Her treasures were there.  Paul, when pressing on with the prize in view, said:--

     “Forgetting the things which are behind . . . . . I pursue” (Phil.iii.13,14).

     Egypt with its fish and its onions and its garlick stands for the world and its seductions.  Let us, who have been redeemed from the present evil age, seek to cultivate a sanctified forgetfulness, lest the things that have been left behind become a snare.

     Forgetfulness led to impatience:--

     “They waited not for His counsel” (Psa. cvi. 13).

   

     Surely if we keep in mind the way in which the Lord has saved us, doubt cannot arise.  Unbelief grows only when we forget God.  Remembering the Passover, the Red Sea, and the destruction of the enemy Israel would have “waited” instead of “murmured”.  The argument is expressed for us in the words of  Rom. viii. 32:--

     “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

     We shall most assuredly come to the waters of Marah before we cross the waters of Jordan and stand triumphant in the land of promise, and when we do, what shall we say? shall we murmur?  Yes, we shall if we forget the works of the Lord.  If, however, we remember His mercy, we shall, in the midst of the sore trial (for bitter water at the end of a three days’ wilderness journey is a sore trial) realized that He is still faithful, and that a lesson for our higher good is to be learned.  The Lord would have His children to understand that there is but one sweetener for the bitterness of the wilderness journey, and that is the cross of Christ:--

     “And the Lord shewed Him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet:  Then He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He proved them” (Exod.xv.25).

     “There He proved them.” — Deuteronomy viii. 2, 3  reveals the fact that the whole of the forty years in the wilderness with its many trials and calls for patience and trust, its privations and its sufferings, were all a part of the Lord’s leading (“Thy God led thee”), and were “to prove” the people in order to make them know that man does not live by bread alone.  The lesson is the same for all who tread the pilgrim way.  It is there in Hebrews for every partaker of the heavenly calling.  It is there in Philippians for all who would, with the apostle, count all things loss, and press on for the prize.  Before Abraham received the promise with an oath he was “proved”, as we see in  Genesis xxii.  and  Hebrews vi.

     The sweetening of the bitter waters by the tree is found to be a symbol of the healing of the nation.

     “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee which I have brought upon the Egyptians;  for I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exod.xv.26).

     Here is revealed the second of the Jehovah titles:--

     The first is  JEHOVAH-JIREH  (Gen. xxii. 14).

     The second is  JEHOVAH-ROPHEKA  (Exod. xv. 26).

     The great dispensational miracle of  Acts iii.  looks to the same end.

     “Neither is there the healing (salvation) in any other” (Acts.iv.12).

     None of the Lord’s dealings are arbitrary, all is for His glorious purpose.  As soon as the lesson of Marah had been given, and the people “proved” as soon as they realized that the waters of the wilderness must be ever bitter apart from the Lord their Healer, then the burning sand is exchanged for the delightful shade of Elim’s palm trees and the wells of Elim take the place of the bitterness of Marah.  Here is completeness.  Twelve wells, one for each tribe.  Here they can anticipate the day when they shall

     “draw water out of the wells of salvation” (Isa. xii. 3).

     So then, fellow-pilgrims, remember that He who leads to Marah can also lead to Elim, and if it be that Marah shall be our experience, its bitterness shall become sweet if it but reveal, in Christ, the “Lord that healeth”.  The Lord who knows the bitterness of Marah knows that

     “no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but rather grievous, NEVERTHELESS AFTERWARD” (Heb.xii.11).

     If we could but remember those words “nevertheless afterward”, our Marahs would speedily give place to Elims, and the initial lesson of the wilderness would be ours.  May we have grace at every Marah to look for the tree, which when cast into the waters makes them sweet.

#49. Israel’s Passage through the Red Sea (Exodus xiv.).

     “Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously:  the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea” (Exod. xv. 1).

     The various references to Israel’s passage through the Red Sea show that it is an experience which was necessary for Israel, as a parallel may be found in the experience of the believer, and in the future restoration of Israel.  An appreciation of its place and meaning will give encouragement to the downcast, stimulus to the one who is seeking the crown or the prize, and an explanation of some of the baffling providences which make up the purpose of the ages.

     As we shall see in our next paper on the Revelation, the Beast, the False Prophet, and Satan must be removed before the millennial kingdom can be set up:  so Israel must see Pharaoh and his host dead on the sea shore before the kingdom can be inherited.  This is emphasized in the prophecy of Israel’s restoration recorded in  Isa. li. 9, 10:--

     “Awake, awake, put on Thy strength, O arm of the Lord, awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old.  Art Thou not it that hath cut Rahab and wounded the dragon?  Art Thou not it which hath dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep;  that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?”

     There is another interesting reference in  Isaiah xi.   Here again the theme is that of Israel’s restoration.

     “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt ... and the Lord shall utterly destroy the gulf of Egyptian sea:  and shall shake His hand against the river (Euphrates) in the full force of His spirit, and shall smite it in the seven streams for a remnant of His people, who shall be left, out of Assyria:  LIKE AS IT WAS TO ISRAEL IN THE DAY THAT HE CAME OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT” (Isa. xi. 11-16).

     When the ransomed Israelites stood upon the sea shore and realized the deliverance that had been accomplished, together with the tragic overthrow of their enemies, they took up a song of triumphant thanksgiving.  After speaking of the way the Lord had “triumphed gloriously” they continued:--

“The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation” (Exod. xv. 2).

     This is exactly what follows the parallel of  Exodus xiv.  already quoted above.  After speaking of the turning away of the Lord’s anger, Israel will continue:--

     “The Lord Jehovah is my strength and song:  He also is become my salvation” (Isa. xii. 2).

     The parallels are very plain and need no comment.  There shall not only be a new covenant made with Israel which shall be infinitely greater than the covenant which the Lord made with them in the day that He:--

“took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt” (Jer.xxxi.32),

but there shall be a repetition of the Red Sea experience also.  In the book of the Revelation, Pharaoh is set aside and his place is taken by the Beast.  The magicians that withstood Moses find their antitype in the False Prophet.  The plagues are repeated on a grander scale in the vials of wrath, and the song of Moses blends with the song of the Lamb.

     “I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire;  and them that had gotten the victory over the Beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.  And they sing THE SONG OF MOSES AND THE LAMB” (Rev.xv.2,3).

     These extracts will show the place that the crossing of the Red Sea holds in prophecy.

     When reading  Psalm lxxvii.  we find that the psalmist, being cast down and troubled, found strength and comfort in remembering that even such an obstacle as the Red Sea must give place before the word of God:--

     “I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times . . . . . Will the Lord cast off for ever? . . . . . Hath God forgotten to be gracious? . . . . . Then i said, this is my infirmity, but i will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High” (Psalm lxxvii. 5-10).

     What is it that the psalmist recalls for his encouragement?  He remembers that moment when Israel, hemmed in by the wilderness and threatened by the pursuing Egyptians, saw the Red Sea open before them:--

     “The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee:  they were afraid … Thy way is in the sea … Thou leadest Thy people like a flock …” (Psa. lxxvii. 16-20).

     We understand from  Heb. xi. 29  that not only did the Lord open the Red Sea, but that Israel passed through “by faith”.  The two phases of the one act are expressed in the words of  Exod. xiv. 13, 15:--

     “Fear ye not, STAND STILL, and see the salvation of the Lord.”

     This is the Godward aspect.

     “Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they GO  FORWARD.”

     This is the other side of the truth.  We find many parallels to this.   Ephesians ii. 9  declares that we are not saved “out of works”, and  Eph. ii. 10  as strongly declares that we have been saved “unto good works”, while  Phil. ii. 12  says, “Work out your own salvation”, while  Phil. ii. 13  follows by saying, “it is God that worketh in you”.

         The reference already made to  Revelation xv.  will confirm the thought that the passage of the  Red Sea was the first great act of overcoming faith on the part of Israel.   Hebrews xi.  says, “By faith he (Moses) kept the Passover” (Heb. xi. 28).  “By faith they (Israel) passed through the Red Sea as by dry land” (Heb. xi. 29).

     There is a significant addition in the verse concerning the Egyptians.  Israel did not merely venture to cross the bed of the sea.  The Egyptians did so also.  The outward act was the same, but there the semblance ceased, for Israel’s act was by faith, the record of  Heb. xi. 29  being:--

     “Which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.”

     In some way, not fully understood by us, this passage through the Red Sea united the people together with Moses as one:--

     “All our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;  and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (I Cor. x. 1, 2).

     Coming back to  Exodus xiv.  we observe that the salvation of the Lord, which Israel were to see that day, included not only their own deliverance, but the destruction of their enemy.  Salvation in one sense is an accomplished fact;   we are redeemed by the blood of Christ.  Salvation in another sense is future;  we are sealed unto the day of redemption.  This future aspect of salvation involves the destruction of the power of death, and him who held the power, i.e., the devil.  The Beast, the False Prophet, and the Dragon must be overcome before the saved possess the kingdom.

     The Red Sea experience lies ahead of every dispensational division of God’s purpose, whether of church or kingdom.

     “Thanks be to God, that giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”   (I Cor. xv. 57).

#48. The Lord’s Leading (Exod. xiii. 21, 22).

     How many readers could say, without referring to the chapter, with what subject the book of Exodus closes?  Some may say the tabernacle, and be partly right, but the actual closing reference is to the pillar of cloud and fire “throughout all their journeys”.

     In the book of the Psalms the exodus of Israel is several times epitomized, and among the features of that memorable time that are remembered is the fact that He who redeemed the people, led them out and on through sea and wilderness until they reached the land of promise.  Notice the following:--

     “In the daytime also He led them with a cloud and all night with a light of fire” (Psa. lxxviii. 14), 

     “And He led them on safety, so that they feared not;  but the sea overwhelmed their enemies” (Psa. lxxviii. 53).

     He “guided (same word as led) them by skillfulness of His hands” (lxxviii. 72).      

     “He spread a cloud for a covering;  and a fire to give light in the night” (Psalm.cv.39).

     So in  Exod. xiii. 21, 22  we read:--

     “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them in the way:  and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light:  to go by day and night:  He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people.”

     Let us notice the following features:--

1.   The   leading   was   Personal.

     “The Lord went before them.”  When Moses rehearsed, before his death, the ways of the Lord with Israel, speaking of His leading he said, “So the Lord alone did lead him” (Deut. xxxii. 12).  It is the Lord’s prerogative to lead His people, and the solemn statement of Moses here seems to suggest that all other “leading” is nothing less than idolatry.  This should give pause to any who rather freely use the expression “I felt led”.  This personal Presence of the Lord was clearly realized by Moses as being essential to the accomplishment of the Lord’s purpose:--

     “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.  And he said unto Him, If Thy presence go not with men, carry us not up hence” (Exod. xxxiii. 14, 15).

     This presence of the Lord was manifested by an angel.  “Behold Mine angel shall go before thee” (Exod. xxxii. 34).  So in  Exod. xiv. 19, 20  we find:--

     “The angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them;  and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them;  and it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel;  and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these.”

     The presence of the Lord, the leading of the Lord, is a great dividing line between the saint and the world.  “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. viii. 14).   The  leading  may  be  by  lowlier  means  than  that  of  an  angel.    Psalm lxxvii. 20  says, “Thou leddest Thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron”, yet though the means be more fallible, the Lord alone is the leader, whatever medium He may choose from time to time.  The children of God today may not see visible signs of the Lord’s presence, nevertheless the Lord still leads His people, and largely uses the inspired Word.  “Send out Thy light and Thy truth, let them lead me” (Psa.xliii.3).  We may be more certain that we “feel led” when we are led by God’s own Word.

2.   The   leading   was   adapted   to   the   need.

     By day a pillar of cloud, but this would not have been visible by night, and so the Lord manifested His presence at night by means of a pillar of fire.  The experience of one time is not necessarily the experience of another.  In the daytime and sunshine of life the Lord’s presence will be manifest in one way.  In the dark night of life’s experiences His presence, just as real, will be manifest in another way.  Whatever the mode of manifestation, the Lord’s personal presence is the blessed fact.

3.   Leading   is   a   part   of   redemption.

     “HE TOOK NOT AWAY the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people” (Exod. xiii. 22).

     Israel many, many times failed, so grievously indeed that many forfeited the land of promise and perished in the wilderness;  nevertheless, the pillar of cloud went before them.  This is the closing testimony of the book of Exodus.  Coming where it does in the book (Exod. xl. 34-38) it reveals the reason why the presence of the Lord manifested in the pillar of cloud could remain.   Exodus xl.  speaks of the setting up of the tabernacle, and  Lev. xvi. 2  says:--

     “I will appear (or, I am wont to appear) in the cloud upon the mercy seat.”

     Numbers ix. 15-23  speaking of the same event says:--

     “And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of testimony;  and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire until the morning, SO IT WAS ALWAYS.”

     Notice the way in which this closing statement of Exodus is introduced:--

“So Moses FINISHED the work.  THEN a cloud covered the tent” (Exod. xl. 33, 34).

     The Lord’s leading is one of the results of the Lord’s redemption, one of the fruits of a finished work.  The Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep, as the risen One leads them in green pastures for His name’s sake.

4.   The   pillar   of   cloud   regulated   all   Israel’s   journeyings.

     “When the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, THEN AFTER THAT the children of Israel journeyed:  and IN THE PLACE where the cloud abode, THERE the children of Israel pitched their tents” (Numb. ix. 17).

     The time when and the place where is decided alone by the Lord.  Further, we read, “whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed”.  The Lord’s leading did not always conform to custom, nor to convenience, but day or night Israel had to be prepared to follow.  “Or whether it were two days, or a month, or a year” that  the  cloud  tarried,  there  in  unquestioning  obedience  Israel  had  to  remain  (Numb. ix. 15-23).  What a blessed condition to be in, led by the Lord!  By day or by night, to Elim with its palm trees and wells, or on into the desert, all is well if we are led by the Lord.

     “And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart” (Deut. viii. 2).

     “Lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies” (Psa. xxvii. 11).