And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before them, and stood behind them.
Israel is trapped between the sea and Pharaoh's advancing army. At that moment the God who had been walking ahead of them changes position. It raises two questions: who is this Angel, and why does He move to the back?
The Angel who leads Israel is no ordinary messenger. One writer compares the passages where He appears.
It is clear, from this passage and from chapter 14 and others, that Scripture gives Him divine attributes. For example, God says of Him, "My name is in Him." In Exodus 14, Scripture first calls Him an angel and then identifies Him with Jehovah (compare verse 24 with verse 19). The fair conclusion is that in this angel we have none other than the Second Person of the Trinity, God the Son, Jehovah. In His many appearances we may see foreshadowings of His incarnation. It is He who has always been the leader of His people.
Everything in the chapter turns on this one move. It settles the battle before a blow is struck.
Verses 19 and 20 record what we may dare to call the decisive move in this tremendous drama. The Angel of God in the pillar of cloud moved from the front of the Israelites. He planted Himself between them and the pursuing Egyptians. He was about to walk with them through the waters of death. But He would go covering their rear with the cloud of His presence. Whatever was now about to happen, no Egyptian would be able to strike a single Israelite unless he could pierce through the cloud. Before he could touch any of those escaping from slavery he would have to overcome God Almighty!
The pillar changed its role as Israel's need changed.
The army of Egypt had come out, and were pressing on the heels of the children of Israel. Then the Pillar puts itself between the two armies. Instead of being lit up all through, it becomes darkness on the side turned to the Egyptians, and light on the side turned to the Israelites. So the one could not come near the other. It was a shield now, as it had been a guide before. It is just whatever the people needed.
One writer sees this double effect as a picture of the cross.
It is both very solemn and very interesting to notice the double aspect of the "pillar" in this chapter. How like the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ! That cross has a double aspect too. It forms the foundation of the believer's peace. At the same time it seals the condemnation of a guilty world. The very same blood cleanses the believer's conscience and gives him perfect peace. That same blood stains this earth and completes its guilt.
The same writer follows this protection through to the conscience.
Jehovah placed Himself right between Israel and the enemy — this was protection indeed... So God always places Himself between His people and every enemy, so that "no weapon formed against them can prosper." He has placed Himself between us and our sins. It is our happy privilege to find Him between us and everyone and everything that could be against us. This is the true way to find both peace of heart and peace of conscience. The believer may make a careful and anxious search for his sins, but he cannot find them. Why? Because God is between him and them.
The blood of the Lamb had already sheltered Israel. Here they learn something more.
They have a backward look for a moment, and they find that God has put Himself between themselves and the enemy. He seemed to say — Come on, Pharaoh, you may touch them if you can, you may put your hand on them if you can. And were they safe? Indeed they were. They were safe under the shelter of the blood, but now they are to learn that they are saved. I am safe when under the shelter of the blood of the Lamb. I am saved when the power of the enemy is broken... The angel going behind them was most gracious. If the light had been in front, the rear would have been in terror. Imagine six hundred thousand of them, only five abreast. The first five would say, We are all right, but the last five are not very safe. But God comes in between the last five and the enemy, and how safe they all were, with the light of God shining over their heads.
- Who moves — The Angel is Jehovah Himself. Israel's leader is God the Son, and His appearances point forward to His incarnation.
- Where He moves — He leaves the front and takes the rear. Now the enemy must overcome God Almighty to touch one Israelite.
- What He becomes — The guide becomes a shield. The pillar is whatever the people need, when they need it.
- What it shows — One cloud, two effects: darkness to Egypt, light to Israel. So with the cross: the believer's peace and the world's condemnation at once.
- What it gives — God stands between you and the enemy, and between you and your sins. Safe under the blood; saved when God breaks the enemy's power.
And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and was a cloud and darkness, and lit up the night; and the one did not come near the other all the night.
The sea lies in front of Israel, and Pharaoh's army presses in from behind. The pillar that had led them now moves to the rear, stands between the two camps, and keeps the pursuers back all night.
An enemy who wanted Israel now had a different problem.
The Lord placed Himself right between Israel and the enemy — this was protection indeed. Before Pharaoh could touch a hair of Israel's head, he would have to make his way through the very tent of the Almighty — yes, through the Almighty Himself. This is how God always places Himself between His people and every enemy, so that no weapon formed against them can prosper. He has placed Himself between us and our sins; and it is our happy privilege to find Him between us and everyone and everything that could be against us.
The cloud had gone ahead of the people as a guide. Here it takes a new place and a new work.
The army of Egypt had come out and was pressing on the heels of the children of Israel; and then the Pillar puts itself between the two armies. It is no longer lit up and shining all over. It becomes darkness on the side turned toward the Egyptians, and light on the side turned toward the Israelites. So the one could not come near the other. It was a shield now, as it had been a guide before. It is just whatever the people needed. That was its way. It expressed the grace of the One who had now saved Israel.
One writer asks us to picture the scene from where Israel stood.
Now consider the situation. Behind the very last of the company was the presence of the Almighty, like a searchlight of huge power. It was not in their eyes to dazzle them. It was placed so that its light, reflected from the glassy walls of water, must have lit up all their way. All that night Israel walked in the light, and the enemy, despite their swift chariots, was stumbling in the darkness. All that night too the Angel of God Himself was walking through the sea of death. That Angel was the representative of the Lord.
Older translations bring out the split more sharply than the ESV: the cloud was "darkness to them," the Egyptians, but "gave light by night" to Israel. One commentator sees the cross working the same way.
It is both very solemn and very interesting to notice the double aspect of the "pillar" in this chapter. It was a cloud and darkness to the Egyptians, but it gave light by night to Israel. How like the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ! That cross truly has a double aspect as well. It forms the foundation of the believer's peace, and at the same time seals the condemnation of a guilty world. The very same blood that cleanses the believer's conscience and gives him perfect peace stains this earth and completes its guilt.
The sea had not yet opened. Israel was still waiting on the shore.
The Lord steps in and puts Himself between Satan and His people... Before He gives the comfort of deliverance, He always makes sure that Satan does not touch us.
Israel brought nothing to that night's safety.
The finest soldiers of Egypt might well look down on that panic-stricken crowd. But they were under the shield of Almighty power. Before anyone could reach them, he must first meet and overcome God Himself... It is therefore not what we are, but what God is. And notice that the One who is for the believer is against the enemy. What gave light to the children of Israel was a cloud and darkness to Pharaoh and his army.
Egypt could not see the people it was chasing. One writer reads that blocked view as a picture of the death of Christ.
We may take the cloud here as a symbol of the death of Christ, which comes in as a mighty barrier between the world and us. The marked-out path is on the resurrection side of the death of Christ. So the sharpest mind cannot grasp it. Because of the cloud, the Egyptians could not see through to the Israelites. It was darkness to them, but light to the Israelites. "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God... they are spiritually discerned."
- Between — God does not merely help from a distance; He puts Himself in the gap, so an enemy must get through Him first.
- Shield — The pillar guided from the front. Now it guards from the rear, becoming whatever the people need.
- Two sides — One cloud, two effects: darkness to Egypt, light to Israel. The cross divides the same way — a guilty world on one side, a believer at peace on the other.
- First — Protection came before deliverance. God secured them on the shore before He opened the sea.
- Ground — Their safety rested on what God is, not on what they were. Almighty power kept a frightened crowd safe all night.