Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 13:20
And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.
20. The form of the verse is that usual in P’s itineraries: cf. Exo 17:1, Exo 19:2, Num 21:10 f., Exo 22:1, and esp. Exo 33:5-23.
Etham ] On the ‘edge (lit. end) of the wilderness,’ i.e. of the wilderness on the East of the Isthmus of Suez (in Num 33:8 [P] called the ‘wilderness of Etham,’ in which the Israelites journeyed for three days after the passage of the Red Sea); the ‘edge’ of this wilderness here meant will be the N. part of what we call the Isthmus of Suez. The precise site of Etham on this ‘edge’ is, however, quite uncertain, as the name has not been satisfactorily identified. Khetem in Egyptian means a ‘closed place, fortress, castle’; and there was a ‘Castle ( Khetem) in Zaru ( or Zalu),’ corresponding to the Selle of the Roman itineraries, often mentioned in the Inscriptions as passed by the Eg. kings on their expeditions into, or return from, Asia (see Maspero, ii. 122, 123, 370; and cf. the writer’s essay, with citation of inscriptions, in Hogarth’s Authority and Archaeology, pp. 58 61), which has been supposed to be the place meant. Selle is the modern Tell Abu-Sfeh, at the N. end of L. Ball, 18 miles N. of L. Tims (Masp. i. 75, 201 n. 4: see further reff. in DB. s.v. Shur). This however seems to be too far to the N.: a stronger guttural than would also have been expected at the beginning of ‘’ Etham,’ if it had been the transcription of the Eg. khetem. A site more to the S. seems to be more probable: Di. suggests the E. end of the sand-ridge el-Gisr, 3 miles N. of L. Timsa (see p. 126); Dawson and Naville the N. end of L. Tims.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Etham – The house or sanctuary of Tum (the Sun God worshipped especially by that name in Lower Egypt), was in the immediate vicinity of Heliopolis, called by the Egyptians the fortress of Zar, or Zalu (i. e. of foreigners); the frontier city where the Pharaohs of the 18th dynasty reviewed their forces when about to enter upon a campaign on Syria. The name Pithom (see Exo 1:11) has precisely the same meaning with Etham, and may possibly be identified with it.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 20. Encamped in Etham.] As for the reasons assigned on Ex 13:17, God would not lead the Israelites by the way of the Philistines’ country, he directed them towards the wilderness of Shur, Ex 15:22, upon the edge or extremity of which, next to Egypt, at the bottom of the Arabian Gulf, lay Etham, which is the second place of encampment mentioned. See the extracts from Dr. Shaw at the end of Exodus. See Clarke on Ex 40:38.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
20. encamped in EthamThisplace is supposed by the most intelligent travellers to be the modernAjrud, where is a watering-place, and which is the third stage of thepilgrim-caravans to Mecca. “It is remarkable that either of thedifferent routes eastward from Heliopolis, or southward fromHeroopolis, equally admit of Ajrud being Etham. It is twelve milesnorthwest from Suez, and is literally on the edge of the desert”[Pictorial Bible].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And they took their journey from Succoth,…. On the second day, as Jarchi observes, from their coming out of Egypt, which was the sixteenth of Nisan:
and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness which had its name from it, and was called the wilderness of Etham, Nu 33:8. Etham is said to be eight miles from Succoth s. Josephus t calls Succoth Latopolis, which had its name from the fish Latus, formerly worshipped them, where, he says, Babylon was built when Cambyses destroyed Egypt, and is thought by many u to be the same with Troglodytis, by the Red sea; and Etham is supposed to be the Buto of Herodotus w, where were the temple of Apollo and Diana, and the oracle of Latona.
s Bunting’s Travels, p. 81. t Antiqu. l. 2. c. 15. sect. 1. u See the Universal History, vol. 3. p. 387. w Enterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 59, 63, 83, 155.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
From Succoth they went to Etham. With regard to the situation of Succoth (from huts, probably a shepherd encampment), only so much can be determined, that this place was to the south-east of Ramses, on the way to Etham. Etham was “at the end of the desert,” which is called the desert of Etham in Num 33:8, and the desert of Shur ( Jifar, see Gen 16:7) in Exo 15:22; so that it was where Egypt ends and the desert of Arabia begins, in a line which curves from the northern extremity of the Gulf of Arabia up to the Birket Temseh, or Crocodile Lake, and then on to Lake Menzalet. According to the more precise statements of travellers, this line is formed from the point of the gulf northwards, by a broad sandy tract of land to the east of Ajrud, which never rises more than about three feet above the water-mark (Robinson, Pal. i. p. 80). It takes in the banks of the old canal, which commence about an hour and a half to the north of Suez, and run northwards for a distance which Seetzen accomplished in 4 hours upon camels ( Rob. Pal. i. p. 548; Seetzen, R. iii. p. 151, 152). Then follow the so-called Bitter Lakes, a dry, sometimes swampy basin, or deep white salt plain, the surface of which, according to the measurements of French engineers, is 40 or 50 feet lower than the ordinary water-mark at Suez. On the north this basin is divided from the Birket Temseh by a still higher tract of land, the so-called Isthmus of Arbek. Hence “Etham at the end of the desert” is to be sought for either on the Isthmus of Arbek, in the neighbourhood of the later Serapeum, or at the southern end of the Bitter Lakes. The distance is a conclusive argument against the former, and in favour of the latter; for although Seetzen travelled from Suez to Arbek in 8 hours, yet according to the accounts of the French savan, de Bois Aym, who passed through this basin several times, from the northern extremity of the Bitter Lakes to Suez is 60,000 mtres (16 hours’ journey), – a distance so great, that the children of Israel could not possibly have gone from Etham to Hachiroth in a day’s march. Hence we must look for Etham at the southern extremity of the basin of the Bitter Lake,
(Note: There is no force in the objection to this situation, that according to different geognostic indications, the Gulf of Suez formerly stretched much farther north, and covered the basin of the Bitter Lake; for there is no evidence that it reached as far as this in the time of Moses; and the statements of early writers as to the position of Heroopolis in the inner corner of the Arabian Gulf, and not far to the north of Klysma, furnish no clear evidence of this, as Knobel has already observed.)
which Israel might reach in two days from Abu Keishib, and then on the third day arrive at the plain of Suez, between Ajrud and the sea. Succoth, therefore, must be sought on the western border of the Bitter Lake.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verses 20-22:
The present sites of Succoth and Etham are uncertain. Etham was the rendezvous point at “the ege of the wilderness,” a place dividing Egypt from the Sinai.
Jehovah provided a means by which He would lead Israel on their journey. By day, He led with a “pillar of cloud.” This cloud remained with them throughout their wilderness journey. By night, the cloud became a “pillar of fire.” The Orientals often traveled at night, to avoid the scorching heat of the day.
The cloud by day and fire by night typify the leadership of the Holy Spirit, in the life of God’s child today.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
THE PILLAR OF CLOUD AND FIRE
Exo 13:20-22.
SECOND in interest to that study which sees in prophecy the mold of history is the consideration of the Old Testament types,symbols of New Testament truths. That such types and symbols existed cannot be called into question without denying alike the teachings of Christ and of His Apostles, who not only saw these types and symbols, but set the seal of their approval upon them by their repeated employment to illustrate the Christ-thought. Paul speaks of the Law as having a shadow of the good things to come. He also says again that the tabernacle and its service was a parable for the time then present. Jesus also declared, Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me, for he wrote of Me. The entire Epistle to the Hebrews is an argument for Christianity based upon the rites and ceremonies of the Book of Leviticus.
I have often spoken of the Gospel in Genesis it is there. The Gospel according to Leviticus is a phrase now commonly employed by the best students of the Book. But the Gospel is in Exodus also as surely as it is in John. To deny that there is a definite and Divinely appointed relation between
these Old Testament types and symbols and the New Testament truths is to destroy the unity of the ages, and divorce today from yesterday. There are people who object to our going back to these ancient types, for the well-sounding reason that the symbol is passed away, and the substance is now ours in Christ Jesus. Why then stop to spend our time upon the outline when we have the finished product; before the imperfect representationbelonging to a past timewhen we have a picture up-to-date, one more perfect and pleasing; before the blue-print when the building itself is ours? Such a question is not difficult to answer. A simple illustration will suffice: Once I found my small boys ransacking a dresser drawer in search of old pictures of their father. Some of these were tin-types and presented a youth whose appearance in no respect increased his pride, but they were of deep interest to them because they illustrated the growth of him with whose life their own is so intimately linked. Is not that the reason why every picture of Godthe Father; and the Holy Spiritour Instructor; of Jesusour Saviour, is of interest to Christianschildren of the King? And furthermore, it is a delight to the modern believer to see that God, in His infinite wisdom and great mercy, did not leave the Ancients without a revelation of Himself, a revelation of His Spirit and a revelation of His Son! The symbols by which the Trinity is expressed are not only striking illustrations of the Divine character; but also gracious expressions of Divine love and care!
I have chosen to present these symbols in the order of their appearance in the text, rather than the logical order of Father, Son and Spirittypified.
We deal first of all, therefore, with the symbol of the Spirit.
The pillar of cloud and fire was for ancient Israel what the Holy Spirit is for the modern believer. The points of analogy are too many for the limits of a single discourse, but our time may suffice to make mention of five of these. We choose to put them into the form of assertions concerning the operations of the Spiritwhich assertions are illustrated by the pillar of cloud and fire.
I. HE LEADS US TO LEAVE THE OLD LIFE.
Did you ever think of the fact that the pillar of cloud and fire appeared at the edge of the Wilderness, and before the Children of Israel crossed the Red Sea? Egypt is commonly accepted as the type of the soul in bondage to Satanthe Adversary; as a symbol of the unregenerate state. Are we to understand, therefore, that the Holy Spirit begins His work with men before they become Christians? Certainly ! Otherwise they would never become Christians at all. There is a broadcast impression to the effect that sinners, of themselves, decide upon a better life, and seek the assistance of the Lord in their endeavor to lead the same. But such a thought is without the warrant of the Lord. Jesus said to Nicodemus, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. As Israel could not have made her way out of Egypt without the guidance of the pillar of cloud and fire, so Paul wrote to the Corinthians, Wherefore I give you to understand * * that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost (1Co 12:3).
I heard John McNeil say something to this effect, Ah, my friends, when I preach to you I am not alone, I have an efficient co-laborer, namely, the Holy Ghost. If my word only reaches your dull ears, His work quickens your dead hearts, and makes you alive to the truth as it is in Jesus, and leads us to His acceptance. These words of John McNeil increase my confidence in preaching the Gospel; for, truly, the man who voices the great doctrines of the Scripture is a co-laborer with the Holy Spirit; and He never fails to do His work, and to do it well. Of Him Jesus said, When He is come He will convince the world of sin. * * Of sin, because they believe not on Me, And wherever one declares the Gospel of the Son of God, the Spirit is there to make the message effective.
Nothing has ever come into my ministry that has brought me such a blessing as this thought that I am working with One who, though unseen, is yet so potent. One summer, in the mountains of Oregon, I went deer hunting. The man who took me carried me to the place of the game, put me down on the run, and he himself went into the mountains, hunted up the game, starting them from their beds of ease, and on the very way where I waited for the opportune moment to take it. When the deer was brought in, my companions said that I had taken it. But that was only a poor and partial truth. He did the greater part, though in the mountains, unseen of us, he quickened the game and chased it to the point of its shooting. When you hold a meeting and men are converted, in answer to the preaching, people say, That minister has taken so many for Christ. But, beloved, if that minister had to work alone he might watch for souls all his life long, and would be compelled to lie down in death, at last, without having taken a one. Think of how the incident in the eighth chapter of Acts illustrates this truth. One reading that Scripture would be tempted to praise Philip and say, What an effective worker ! But you must not forget that Philips part in the Ethiopians salvation was slight. Already the Spirit of God had come upon that Ethiopian. Already the Spirit of God had led him to a study of the Scriptures. Already the Spirit of God had quickened him into a sense of need; aye, had even started him right down the run way where Philip was stationed, watching for whatever souls might be sent him; and the Spirit was so careful in His work that He called Philips attention to this Ethiopian and said, Go near and join thyself to this chariot. Truly He is the One that leads men to leave the old life. And if, while I am preaching, you do not find another voice than mine, one speaking to your heart, even the voice of the Holy Spirit, I shall not expect you to be saved.
II. HE CHOOSES THE PATH FOR OUR FEET.
How abundantly the pillar of cloud and fire illustrates this fact, And the Lord went with them by day in the pillar of cloud to lead them, and by night in the pillar of fire to give them light; to go by day and night. You will remember that later, it is written, When the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle the Children of Israel went onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.
In the Book of Numbers we read, 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 (Num 9:17). The Psalmist, referring to this very piece of history, writes, Marvelous things did He in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and He made the waters to stand as an heap. In the daytime also He led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire (Psa 78:12-14). The Lord alone did lead them. What other leadership does one need? What is your purpose, beloved? Would you like to know the truths of Gods Word? Then let the Spirit lead you into them. Jesus Himself said of the Spirit, When He is come He will guide you into all truth.
We sometimes speak of the great Bible teachers of this countrymen famed in this good work; but we forget the greatest of all Bible teachers, namely, the Holy Ghost. He alone has the power to take of the things of Christ and show them unto us. George Mueller in early life was a godless fellow. But eventually he yielded himself up fully to the Lord and sought the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Before that surrender was made he had three hundred books in his library; but no Bible. But under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, he not only had a Bible, but studied it. He himself says of it, Between July, 1829, and January, 1830, I had seen the leading truths connected with the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus; I had apprehended the all-sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures as our rule, and the Holy Spirit as our teacher; I had seen clearly the precious doctrines of the grace of God, about which I had been uninstructed for nearly four years after my conversion; and I had learned the heavenly calling of the Church of Christ, and the consequent position of the believer in this world. Better one hour with the Holy Ghost for learning the Word than a hundred at the feet of the most famed of human teachers.
And He who leads us into truth is also able to lead us into life, by divinely appointed paths. Such is according to the promises: I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go (Psa 32:8), In all thy ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths (Pro 3:6). The Lord shall guide thee continually (Isa 58:11). F. B. Meyer, quoting these passages of Scripture, says, The references here seem to be to the wilderness wanderings; and the Masters promises, to be to all faithful souls in their pilgrimage to the land of God, what the cloudy pillar was to the Children of Israel on their march to the land of promise. And these are but specimens; the vault of Scripture is inlaid with thousands such, that glisten in their measure, as the stars which guide the wanderer across the deep.
We sometimes sing the words of the poet Wells:
Holy Spirit, faithful Guide,
Ever near the Christians side,
Gently lead us by the hand,
Pilgrims in a desert land;
Weary souls for eer rejoice,
While they hear that sweetest voice,
Whispring softly, wanderer, come!
Follow Me, Ill guide thee home.
Ever present, truest Friend,
Ever near Thine aid to lend,
Leave us not to doubt and fear,
Groping on in darkness drear.
When the storms are raging sore,
Hearts grow faint, and hopes give oer
Whisper softly, wanderer, cornel
Follow Me, Ill guide thee home.
When our days of toil shall cease,
Waiting still for sweet release,
Nothing left but Heaven and prayer,
Wondering if our names are there;
Wading deep the dismal flood,
Pleading naught but Jesus Blood,
Whisper softly, wanderer, come!
Follow Me, Ill guide thee home.
This Old Testament pillar of cloud and fire was more than Gods provision for Israel; it was Gods pledge of leadership to all the faithful; and it is Gods proffer to any man who will shake off the chains of Egypt and repudiate the supremacy of Pharaoh, and walk in that way which the Holy Spirit illuminates by His own guiding presence. He will find it the path of the just which shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
III. HE CONFUSES AND DISCOMFITS OUR ENEMIES.
I like to look into this Book of Exodus and see how that same pillar of cloud and fire that appeared in the edge of the wilderness to lead them out of Egypt, also fought for them when occasion arose. It was at the Red Sea, when this people of God were enclosed by mountains on the one side, and the flood on the other, with the hosts of the Egyptians closing in for their slaughter, that we read 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; so that the one came not near the other all the night.
At a later time, when these people forgot the goodness of God, and murmured against Moses and against Aaron, and gathered themselves against them, this same cloud, which had fought for Israel, appeared in behalf of Moses and Aaron, for the people looked toward the tabernacle of the congregation; and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation, and the Lord spake to Moses, and the Lord smote the rebels. If God be for us who can be against us? Our victories, if such we win, are not to be by might nor by power, but by His Spirit.
When Joan of Arc had practically finished her marvelous, her almost supernatural career; when she had given to France a king; and to her king, France, she confessed it was not by her might or power that this was done, but by the Spirit of the Lord. Kneeling before her anointed Sovereign, she said, of the battles fought, and the victories won, Gracious King, now is fulfilled the pleasure of God. The secret of Joans success was that she believed in this power of the Spirit as she went into battle.
Ah, if more of us appreciated that power, fewer of us would be filled with cowardly fears, as we think upon the conflicts of the Christian life, or come face to face with its most dreaded foes. The story is told that Frederick Douglas once made a mournful speech, in which he said, The white man is against us! The government is against us! The spirit of the times is against us! I see no hope for the colored race. I am full of sadness. Just then a colored woman sprang to her feet in the audience and said, Frederick, is God dead? That is my question to men who, for Christs sake, face enemies within and without; who have their own passions to battle with; who have a host of evil companions to meet; who have the insidious work of the devil himself to face: Is God dead? Is there no substance answering to this symbol of the cloud and fire? Is there no Holy Ghost who can accomplish as much for us as He wrought for Israel? Is there not success in spite of Satan, for those who are Spirit-led? There is an old frontispiece in Wickliffs first Bible which represents the Holy Scriptures by a bright flame. Before this flame, and all about it, are assembled the enemies of the truth, with the devil at their head. They are attempting to blow it out. There are the bishop, the priests, the cardinals, and the Pope himself, all in line with the evil one, blowing and blowing until it seems as if they would burst. But the more they blow the brighter that fire blazes, until by and by they are scattered by its very consuming breath. Beloved, that is not only an illustration of truth in the abstract, but equally one of truth in the concrete, truth in character. The man who follows the leadings of the Spirit of God will find that no matter how great a multitude his enemies make, that over-shadowing presence is more than a match for them, and is able not only to part the waters that they may walk across the seas, dry-shod; but when they are passed by, it swings back and acts as a rearguard.
IV. HE BOTH OVERSHADOWS AND INDWELLS US.
The pillar of cloud and fire overshadowed the tents of Israel, and on occasion dwelt in the midst of them.
Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the Children of Israel went onward in all their journeys.
But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.
For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the House of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
It was a shade against the burning sun; a grateful cover by day; at evening time its light broke forth so that if they journeyed, they walked in a plain path, by day and by night. When they rested it settled down over the tabernacle and dwelt in the midst of them. Beautiful symbol, the shadowing presence of Godthe Holy Spirit, and the fact that He indwells us. Know ye not that ye are the temple of the Living God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? I will put My spirit in you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments and do them. I will dwell in you and walk in you, and ye shall be My people. Beloved, if Godthe Father is upon His throne, remember that Godthe Holy Ghost, is here, indwelling the tabernacle of His chosennamely, the devoted hearts and lives. Therein is the secret of our strength. Therein is the hope of our success. Think of what this indwelling meant for Peter! Simon, the uncertain character;
Simon, the cowardly disciple; Simon, the Apostle who turned early to profanity; who, in the face of an insignificant foe, denied his Lord, in less than sixty days is worthy his new namethe rock man. In less than sixty days he faces the very crucifiers of Christ and charges them with having killed the Lord of life; and becomes fearless in the presence of councils; defies bonds, even death itself. What accomplished it? How account for this change? Go into the report of Pentecost in the second chapter of Acts and you will see what wrought it. It was not growth, as some one has suggested; it was receiving the Holy Ghosthe came and indwelt this man, dominated his life, and lo, instantly, cowardice gives place to courage, profanity to marvelous preaching, denial of Christ to readiness to die for Him.
I believe, beloved, that most of us are living on a low plane, and God has appointed for us larger things. If I were asked what is the greatest need of the Church now, I should answer, that she tarry in Jerusalem until she be endued with the promise of the Spirit. Surely Christ must have understood what would make for Christian character; surely Christ must have understood what would bring conquest; and when He was ready to ascend, and was speaking His last words, surely He would say then the all essential thing. What did He say? And ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Act 1:8).
Oh, silent Christians, afraid to testify for the Son of God, what is it that your life lacks but the indwelling Presence, of which this pillar of cloud and fire was a holy symbol?
V. HE WILL LEAD UNTIL THE LORD HAS COME.
By referring to Neh 9:19 you will see that the pillar of cloud and fire forsook them not in the wilderness. So long as they remained in the wilderness they were guided by it. This wilderness is a symbol of that life men lead in going from the bondage of sin to the land of fullness. It represents the experience lying between. When at last these people came to the Jordan and crossed over, there the pillar of cloud and fire left them, and Joshua became their leader. Now, Joshua is only another name for Jesus. The dispensation of the Spirit lasts until He come. Hence the words of Ezekiel, the Prophet, I will overturn, overturn, overturn, until He come whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.
Beloved, when you are discouraged; when your heart is failing for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth, dont forget those things that are coming from Heaven, the Kingdom of Godand the Christ of God, for in such an hour as ye think not, ye shall see the Son of Man, coming in a cloud, with power, and with great glory (Luk 21:27). If it was the office of the pillar of cloud and fire to lead until Joshua was raised up to be the chief captain of the hostsguiding to conquest of all Canaan; so it is the office of the Spirit to lead until Jesus descends again into the earth, to set up His throne there, to conquer every heart, to subdue all nations, and undertake that reign which shall be from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.
I shall not attempt, now, any picture of His beauty, when He shall stand on the earth a second time without sin, unto salvation. Words would fail me if I thought to present the happiness that must characterize that age, when the world shall be ruled in righteousness! Who would fathom all the meaning of the Masters language when He promises to true believers a part in that glorious hour? The joys incident to Jesus reign will be the earnest of those of the eventual Heaven; and the beauties of the world, in that hour when the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose, will give us a hint, at least, of the splendors of the Celestial Cityour eternal home.
Who would not go
With buoyant steps, to gain that blessed portal,
Which opens to the land we long to know?
Where shall be satisfied the souls immortal,
Where we shall drop the wearying and the woe
In resting so?
Ah, who would fear?
Since, sometimes through the distant pearly portal,
Unclosing to some happy soul a near,
We catch a gleam of glorious light immortal
And strains of heavenly music faintly hear,
Breathing good cheer!
Who would endure
To walk in doubt and darkness with misgiving,
When He whose tender promises are sure
The Crucified, the Lord, the Ever-living
Keeps us those mansions evermore secure
By waters pure?
Oh, wondrous land!
Fairer than all our spirits fairest dreaming:
Eye hath not seenno heart can understand
The things prepared, the cloudless radiance streaming,
How longingly we wait our Lords command
His opening hand!
Oh, dear ones there!
Whose voices, hushed, have left our pathway lonely,
We come, ere long, your blessed home to share;
We take the guiding Hand, we trust it only
Seeing, by faith, beyond this clouded air,
That land so fair!
When one, in bondage, contrasts his sad estate with that blessed one which God hath prepared for them that love Him, he feels keenly the imprisonment of the Adversary, and longs for his liberty. During the Indian mutiny, when the English were besieged in the city of Lucknow, and were well nigh dead at the hands of the human fiends surrounding them, a little Scotch lassieworn and sickwas lying on the ground, and suddenly she started up, her face all aglow, and shouted, Dinna ye hear them comin? Dinna ye hear them cornin? The people could not understand, but she shouted again, Dinna ye hear them cornin? A regiment of her Scotch countrymen were marching to the relief; and her quick ear caught the note of the bagpipe before another heard it, and her shouts of joy were the expression of the thought, Now we will be made free! Bondage in Egypt ought to come to an end, and will, where one accepts Christ, whom the Lord hath anointed to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
CRITICAL NOTES.
Exo. 13:21. A pillar of cloud] Most interesting is it to trace the Scripture allusions to this pillar. How completely the Hebrew camp was controlled in its movements by it may be seen in Num. 9:15-23; Num. 10:33-36 : hints as to its form may be found in its name and in Psa. 105:39, and 1Co. 10:1 (cf. Isa. 4:5): that God spoke from it is directly affirmed in Psa. 99:7, and may be more fully seen in chap, Exo. 40:34-38 (where, however, observe the definite article, , the [well known, familiar] cloud, the cloud of guidance which had gone before them hitherto). (Lev. 1:1; Num. 1:1,) &c. Some have thought there were two pillars, one of cloud and the other of fire; but, judging simply from a comparison of the various passages, we are led to conceive of the whole matter thus:That within the outer shrine of cloud was placed the central symbol of glory more immediately betokening the Divine Presence; that in the darkness of night, this inner glory shone forth through the cloud as fire, visible from afar; that, when the tabernacle was completed, the cloud rested above it, and the glory entered within it, and ultimately took up its abode beneath the outspread wings of the cherubim; and that when the camp was to move forward, and the tabernacle therefore needed to be taken down, the glory resumed its original place of enshrinement within the cloud. In this manner, too, Exo. 14:19-20, may be quite simply understood.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Exo. 13:20-21
THE DIVINE LEADERSHIP OF THE GOOD
The children of Israel have now left Egypt, and are boardering on the edge of the wilderness. They have left Succoth, the place of booths. They are now commencing the hardships of their journey. The young convert has soon to encounter the stern realities of the Christian life, and strangely different are they from those anticipated. But in all wanderings he has a Divine Guide.
I. That the good are divinely led in the wanderings of life. And the Lord went before them. The cloud here named was the symbol of the Divine Presence (Exo. 16:10). In the New Testament, clouds are often spoken of in reference to Christ (Act. 1:9; Rev. 1:7).
1. The Israelites were not left to guide themselves in the wanderings of the desert. If they had they would have been lost in the wilderness. When men are freed from the bondage of sin it is eminently needful that they should be led by the same hand which has wrought their freedom. They can no more lead than free themselves. The good are dependent upon God in every circumstance of their life, both in Egypt and in the wilderness. They are led by Him through the wilderness of affliction and woe. They are led by Him in the pillar of His Providence, by the pillar of His Book, and by the pillar of His sacraments and ordinances. The good are not left to the guidance of reason or impulse, if they were they would often go astray; they are led by an unerring Guide. They have a Divine companionship in all their travels. Hence they are safe, and ought to be trustful and cheerful at all times.
1. The Israelites were led by a visible guide. The pillar of cloud and fire was visible to the whole camp of Israel. What a huge phenomenon it must have been, thus to be within view of such a multitude. Christ the Guide of the soul has appeared to men. His Divine glory was wrapped in the cloud of human nature, else none could have endured the splendour of His appearing. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (Joh. 1:14). He was seen by men, women, and by little children. He sought to guide their feet into right paths. But He is no longer seen by the bodily eye. He has entered within the veil. He is now only visible to the inner eye of the soul. Faith brings Him near to us, and His guidance is as real and reliable as ever. The leadings of the Unseen are more in harmony with the spiritual dispensation under which we live, and tax the nobler energies of the soul.
2. The Israelites were led by a competent guide. The pillar of cloud and of fire was sure to pursue the right way, so that the children of Israel would not be lost in the desert. It would protect them from the shining of the sun and from the scorching of the wind. It would give them the illumination they needed in their journeyings at night. Hence it was indeed a competent guide. The good have a Guide, quite as competent, who knows the best way in which they should travel, so as to culture them for their future inheritance and to enhance the glory of God. They are often brought into perplexing circumstances, but the hand which leads is always able to provide deliverance from enemies, and from hunger and thirst. The good are also protected by the canopy of Divine love, which is carefully spread over their lives (Isa. 4:5-6; Psa. 121:5). They have Divine illumination in the night time, as they must travel day and night to the promised land. They may truly say in reference to their life journey, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me (Psa. 23:4).
3. The Israelites were led by a faithful guide. The Israelites were always conducted in paths which were ultimately best for their true welfare, even though they were at the time unwelcome. The pillar of cloud and of fire never left them while they were in the wilderness. And so the Divine Guide of the Christian life is faithful to the moral interests of those whom He leads. He yields not to their murmurings, He bears long with their rebellion, He remembers His covenant, though often His anger is kindled. But notwithstanding the wayward conduct of the good the Divine Leadership is still permitted to them (Psa. 48:14). God will not leave His Church. He loves it. He has redeemed it. There is none other to help it. He will guide it to the end, till the Church militant comes to the Church triumphant.
II. That the good are often divinely led during the wanderings of life into varied and unexpected paths. The edge of the wilderness. The Israelites would no doubt be greatly perplexed and astonished at the way in which they were being led to the land of promise. They would know it to be circuitous. They would see it to be dangerous. They had made no provision for it. Their food was nearly exhausted. What were they doing? Where were they going? Their circumstances were getting more critical every hour. They were obliged to look only to the pillar of cloud and of fire. Hence we see
1. That God sometimes leads His people contrary to their expectation. No doubt the children on Israel had indulged glowing expectations of the freedom that was to be theirs, and of all its consequent privileges. But how greatly were they mistaken. And young Christians often form very erroneous notions of what their subsequent life will be; they little expect, in the glow of their first experience, that a great wilderness is stretched out before them.
2. That God sometimes leads His people contrary to the dictates of their reason. If the best men of Israel had been consulted as to the path they were to take to Canaan, not one of them, not even Moses, would have selected that divinely chosen. The good are often led in ways that they know not, and which they consider to be contrary to the reason able line of march, but faith in the Lord is the highest reason, and this they must continually exercise.
3. That God always leads His people into those paths which shall yield the most sacred and safe discipline to them. The wilderness journey was a way of severe discipline to the children of Israel, whereas the shorter route would have been a discipline beyond their present strength to endure. God was considerate to them. But the discipline of a freed life advances in severity with the journey. First there is the discipline of the tents, then of the edge o the wilderness, and then of the Red Sea, each manifesting anew the power and love of God. If the way were not rough and perplexing there would have been no pillar of cloud and of fire, there would have been no manna, there would have been no Horeb. The sorrow of life is permeated with the love of God, and hence relieved of its severity, and made a benediction to those who are prayerful and patient under it. If we are Christians, we must follow the cloud, though sometimes with weary step, yet with obedient heart.
III. That the method of the Divine Leadership is adapted to the changing circumstances of the good. By day in a pillar of cloud, by night in a pillar of fire. The life of the good has its alternations of day and night, and consequently needs that the guidance of heaven shall be peculiarly adapted thereto. When the right is dark then the Divine Leadership is as a fire, can be readily seen, is sublimely majestic, and gives evidence of solicitous care for those who are in need of it. There are times in the history of the soul when the Bible is all aflame to it, and when it shines with a lustre hitherto concealed. Hence the Divine guidance is adapted to the special need of life. In the dark night of sorrow how many promises have passed, in majestic grandeur, through the heavens of the soul with warming and consoling influence. God does not guide the good in the day time of prosperity and then leave them in the hour of grief: He says to them, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. At eventide there shall be light. But sometimes the light is at the back of the Christian soul, and cannot well be seen, but he may be always sure that it is somewhere near him, even in the darkest providence, even though it may be hard to find (Exo. 14:20).
IV. That the Divine Leadership should not be mistaken in association with the ordinary agencies of life. No Israelite would mistake the ordinary cloud for the pillar of cloud divinely given. He would distinctly recognise, and without the slightest difficulty, the cloud he was to follow. If he went the wrong path it would be through wilful neglect. And no really good man need mistake the fancied voice of conscience for the voice of God, the two are distinct phenomena, and may be readily recognised apart. He may always know the cloud he is to follow. The principles and precepts of a true life are clearly revealed, are before each heart, and only the foolish will go astray. The truth is always known from the natural inventions of men, by the fire it gives forth to the soul in trouble. The clouds of earth are minus the fire. They cannot give light. They lack the Divine glory. Fire is an emblem of God.
V. That the Divine Leadership is solicitous to lead the good to the promised and peaceful destiny. The pillar of cloud and fire was given to lead the children of Israel to Canaan. And it is for this purpose that God now guides His people, not to lead them into the secrets of human learning, not to lead them into the wealth of commerce, but into the eternal rest of the soul; and how welcome will it be after the fatigue of the wilderness life.
Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah!
When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Pilgrim through this barren land;
Bid my anxious fears subside,
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Death of death, and hells destruction,
Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Land me safe on Canaans side.
Bread of heaven!
Songs of praises
Feed me now and evermore!
I will ever give to thee!
THE CLOUDY AND FIERY PILLAR A SYMBOL OF THE BIBLE
I. As the pillar of cloud was given to guide and comfort, so the Bible is designed to lead the thought and console the sorrow of man. The cloud-pillar was given to guide the Israelites during their wanderings in the wilderness, and to comfort them in all their exigencies. To this end it was admirably adapted. So the Bible is designed to guide the mind into all the rich heritage of heavenly truth, and without it man would be lost in the wide waste of error. It is also intended to console the human heart in all the troubled moods of life, when its joys grow dim, when it is rendered lonely by bereavement, and when it comes to death. At such times the Bible is our chief consolation, it enables us to sorrow in hope, it shows us One who is the Resurrection and the Life.
II. As the pillar combined both cloud and fire, so the Bible unites illumination and mystery. The Israelites saw the cloud, but it concealed more than it revealed. God dwelt in that cloud. He dwelleth in light which no man can approach. Yet there was light in the cloud. And thus it seemed to combine natural and miraculous phenomena. Thus is it with the Bible. There is mystery in it which the finest genius cannot attain, which angelic intelligence cannot interpret, and which eternity may not simplify. Deity dwells in the volume, and we expect that clouds and darkness will be round about Him. This is the God-ward side to the revelation. But there is fire in the book, which illumines the doctrines and morality of the Christian life. This is the man-ward side of the revelation. The Book was inspired by God, and was about God, here is the supernatural; it was written by man and was about man, here is the natural.
III. As the pillar of cloud aided the outgoing of Israel from bondage to rest, so the Bible is the best help man can have in walking through this life to the next. What could the Israelites have done in the wilderness without the pillar of cloud and fire? they would never have reached Canaan. And man without the inspired Word of God would be in utter ignorance and danger. Moral freedom would be a mockery to him, for there would be nothing to take the direction or culture of his emancipated energies. They walk the best in the wilderness of life who pay the most heed to the Word of God (Psa. 119:105) LESSONS:
1. Be thankful for the Bible.
2. Follow the directions of the Bible.
3. Seek the consolation of the Bible.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo. 13:20. Gods redemptive work is progressive, from state to state.
Whenever God brings His people in the way of redemption, they are encamped.
The encamped Church:
1. Christ is Captain.
2. The battle before it in the wilderness.
3. Slavery left behind.
4. Secure.
5. Progressive.
6. Finally triumphant.
At Etham:
1. We know not the sorrow of the future.
2. We know not the wondrous events of the future.
3. We know not our sins of the future.
4. On the edge of the wilderness we are on the verge of a great mystery.
Exo. 13:21-22. Visible signs will God give of His presence with His Church.
Signs do not comprehend God, but represent Him graciously to His Church.
The pillar of cloud and fire is a standing memorial of Gods care over His Church.
Day and night Providence equally takes care of the good of Gods people.
Guidance, protection comfort, and sanctification are in the use of Gods signals.
Israels cloud and fire are eminently distinct from those of the world.
Neither the hottest day nor the darkest night shall stop the redemption of the Church.
God is not mutable in His purpose and work of grace to His redeemed people.
The pillar:
1. The same in substance, so is Christ.
2. Firm and solid, yields not to the storm.
3. All could see it, all can see Christ.
4. It was upraised, the life of the good must be upward.
5. It never failed.
6. The boundless grace of Jesus.
7. Whom do you follow?
The Divine Guide:
1. Acquainted with the way.
2. Accessible.
3. Friendly.
4. Willing.
5. Safe.
6. Continuous.
7. Supreme.
Some can guide through the difficulties of the day, but they cannot guide through the dangers of the night; but here is One to whom the night is as the day, To go by day and by night. What if He awake thee to travel through the night! what if the cloud move when the world is asleep, or when enemies, as the army of Pharaoh, are behind and in pursuit! Thou hast a light, and that light is darkness to them: they cannot come nigh thee all the night. It is a sweet view of the condition of the Church in all these seasons of trial, when she cannot sleep and rest for her enemies, but is awake to the midnight march, or the midnight watch. There is a light within the camp, the light of heaven, the fire of the Lord flaming over every tent. And the light that guides is the light that comforts. Who minds travelling in the night that can see his way? And who should fear following the shining of the Lord?(W. Seaton.)
The pillar is taken away, the cloud is no more by day, nor the fire by night, yet is there light in the Church, a directing light, a comforting light, a protecting lightday-light and night-light. And serene the night, and cheerful the day, that has this light.(W. Seaton.)
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Fire-Pillar! Exo. 13:20-21. The speakers Commentary gives an inscription of the ancient empire of Egypt, in which the general is compared to a flame streaming in advance of his army. On a well-known papyrus, the commander of an expedition is called a flame in the darkness at the head of his soldiers. Burning lights were carried before the armies of Egypt and other ancient nations on the march to battle. The march of Alexander the Greatin his burning, eagle-like swoop eastwardwas preceded by an altar of silver, on which flamed the sacred and eternal fire; and by huge torches raised on lofty poles, the fire of which was visible by night, and the smoke by day. The Divine Fire-Pillar eclipsed the gleam and glow of these masses of light; while it announced to Pharaoh that Israel was Gods army. Its appearancemore especially when a moved from the front to the rearwas a challenge of defiance to Pharaoh, as well as an admonition not to contend with Jehovah. When God arouses a people to defend their rights with the Fire-Pillar of the Holy Bible, there is little fear of the result. The Vaudois of the Valleys fought under the shelter and guidance of this divine pillar; and their foes were discomfited. So
Mine enemies behold it,so with fears
They pause, and hesitate to venture on.
Pillar-Guidance! Exo. 13:21. When Leech the painter was a boy, he was placed at a boarding-school where he had to spend his vacations, as well as his schooldays. His mother pined to see her boy, but the rules of the school precluded her from gratifying this desire. She therefore hired an upper room in one of the houses overlooking the playground. Here she watched her little boy. He did not know that any one was looking down upon him; but that eye followed him wherever he moved. Within the cloudy canopy was the omniscient eye of Israels ever-watchful God. True, as law remarks, the eye of nature sees not a moving or a halting mass; but, nevertheless, the eye of faith can realize the Divine watchfulness, can trace the unseen hand of heavenly guidance, and can read the monitions of loving faithfulness. When thou goest, says Solomon, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; when thou wakest, it shall talk with thee: for the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light. The Light of Scripture is the Light of Life. It is the hand of Christ; aye, it is the heart of Christ.
Welcome alike, when on mine eyelids beat
Red scorching rays, or fades the evening light.
Cloud-Shade! Exo. 13:21. So long as Israel remained in Egypt, Nature furnished them with cool shadows. It is true that there were no groves of patrician trees or fresh plantations, such as make up the beauty and richness of an English landscape; but still, its scenes were adorned with tamarisks and palms, which are to the Egyptian what the bread fruit-trees are for the Polynesian. Even on the border land of the desert there bloomed bright, sweet gardens of jessamine and orange. In the beautiful valleys myriads of roses burdened the air with fragrance. So that as long as Israel continued in Egypt there was abundance of natural shade. But no sooner did they enter upon the sandy barrenness than God gave them supernatural shades in the pillar of cloud by day. MCheyne, referring to Isa. 25:5, affords some idea of the importance of this cloud in sandy deserts, where little or no vegetation existed, so that the sunbeams glance along the level waste of the wilderness, scorching hands and faces. He says that about mid-day, when the heat was very oppressive, a small cloud, scarcely observable by the eye, passed over the disc of the burning sun. Immediately the intense heat abated, a gentle breeze sprang up, and the travellers were refreshed. So God wards His pilgrim church from the scorching rays of the sandy desert of sin, in fulfilment of His promise in Psa. 121:6,
He is a shadow from the noontide heat,
Although a burning fire in gloom of night.
Night and Day! Exo. 13:22. Samuel Rutherford quaintly remarks that as night and shadow are good for flowers, and moonlight and dews are better than continual sun, so Christs absence is of special use. It has some nourishing virtue in it, and giveth up sap to humility. It furnishes a fair occasion for faith to put forth her hand, and lay hold on what it does not see. And yet God was not absent during the night, for the column shone as a flaming fire. So Christ is never really absent from the true Israel of His Church. True, the night often recurs to them as to the typical Israel; but such night is good. When its mantle wraps the spiritual life, the Pillar is clad in robes of fire, and a glory is seen which before was invisible. When gloom oppresses the believer on his pilgrim way, then unwonted glories illumine the road. The smiling face of Jesus glows from out the deep and darkling shadows, speaking silently, yet forcibly: Fear not, for I am with thee.
The gleaming token from afar appears,
To show Gods pilgrims are not left alone.
Bible-Guidance! Exo. 13:21. A traveller relates that he embarked on a steamer one beautiful evening, but towards morning a dense fog enveloped them. No observations could be made, and the vessel was directed by the compass alone. They were lost in the fog on a dangerous coast, and dared not proceed except by the guidance of the compass. In an hour they heard a fog-bell, knew whereabouts they were, and soon safely reached the desired haven. What the compass was to the mariners the pillar of fire was designed to be to Israelto direct them in the right way. And such is the Word of God. It is my compass, my pillar of fire, which guides me safely to the haven of rest.
I have no choice! The pillar of the cloud
Precedes me, hour by hour, to mark my way.
Desert–Shadows! Exo. 13:22. Three travellers in Egypt decided to reach the Holy Land by traversing the sand-wastes which separate them one from the other. Day by day the heat increased its oppressiveness. The hillocks of sandbetween which they slowly moved at the usual pace of the camelreflected the suns rays upon them until their faces glowed, as if they were beside a burning, fiery furnace. Here and there were tufts of verdant plants and stunted shrubs, but too small to afford a shadow from the heat. How great a blessing the pillar of the cloud must have been! Towering over the camp, it cast a delightful shadow upon the sand, over over which they moved. The true Israelwandering in the wilderness of the worldare similarly circumstanced. They have nothing to relieve the burning beams of the sun save the cloud of shadow which the Word of God casts. And it is associated with the assurances that in the Promised Land of Rev. chaps. 21 and 22, there shall be no hunger, thirst, or burning sun; but green shady pastures and living fountains of waters
Shaded on either side by trees of life
Which yielded in unwearying interchange
Their ripe vicissitude of monthly fruits.
Bickersteth.
Pillar-Stability! Exo. 13:22. Whether at sea or on land, the vast phenomena of water or sand columns are unstable. The cloudy sea or sand masses bend quickly before a driving breath; or the storm beats on them, and they vanish. A vivid account of such water-pillar instability is given in The Young Castaways; while a similar illustration of the transitory character of the desert sand-columns is supplied by the author of The Tropical World. In the burning deserts of Peru, when a strong wind blows, huge sand-spouts rise to a height of one hundred feet, advance whirling through the expansive waste, encompass the laggard traveller over these solitudes, and overweighted at the summit totter and fall from top to base. All earthly pillar-shadows or shields, guides or guards, are uncertain and unstable; but the Divine Pillar of Truth mocks the lash of desert-hurricane or water-floods. Amidst the uproar and upheaval of elements, it smiles immovable; for against it; the gates of hell cannot prevail. No assaults can shake this magnificent column of salvation, so that as ancient Israel, Gods true people may trust in the Lord Jehovah, for in Him is everlasting strength, and He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever
Een in the wilderness, He gives sweet sense
Of sure protection, when by dangers pressd.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
THE JOURNEY RESUMED.
(20) They took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham.The exact positions of both Succoth and Etham are uncertain, and can only be conjectured; but they probably lay to the southeast of Tanis, between that city and the Bitter Lakes. Succoth may have been at or near Tel Dafneh, about fifteen miles from Tanis, and Etham near the modern Ismailia, on the verge of the desert. Dr. Brugschs identification of Etham with the Egyptian Khetam is highly improbable, since the Hebrew aleph never replaces the Egyptian kh, which is a very strong guttural. E-tham would mean the house of Turn, and point to a temple of the Sun-god, who was specially worshipped in the Eastern Delta, at Heliopolis, Patumus, and elsewhere.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
20. Etham, in the edge of the wilderness The Wady et Tumey-lat, through which the Israelites commenced their march, leads to the ancient Bitter Lakes, (now a swampy basin, which, except at the inundation, is a dry, deep, white salt plain,) and runs southeast towards Suez . Along the western (or rather southwestern) margin of this basin the Israelites moved, and reached Etham, probably on its southern border, a place on the line where the cultivable land ends and the desert begins . Etham is an Egyptian word, meaning, according to Chabas, the house or temple of Atum, “the setting sun,” which was worshipped at Heliopolis . Du Bois Ayme identified Etham with Bir Suweis, “the well of Suez,” where are now two deep wells of brackish water. Robinson placed it farther east, near the present head of the Gulf. It must have been not far from what was then the head of the Gulf. Travellers generally agree with Du Bois Ayme, ( Descr. de l’Egypte, 11,371,) that the Gulf of Suez once extended much farther north, probably about fifty miles, joining the Bitter Lakes. Etham in that event would be much north of the present Suez.
It is often assumed that the Israelites reached Succoth at the end of the first day, and Etham at the end of the second, but the narrative hardly warrants this. These were the “encampments,” but they may have halted more than a day at each, for the stations are nowhere said to have been a day’s march apart. When we consider the hurry and confusion of the start the vast population of at least two millions which was moved, taking up one portion after another on the march; and the immense number of cattle, sheep, and goats which were gathered together it is not probable that they moved ten miles a day, nor that they marched each day successively. Yet some have so laid out the route as to necessitate a march of from thirty to fifty miles for three successive days! Fourteen miles is a usual day’s march, and twenty-five miles a forced march, for a Prussian soldier in service, and here were women, and children, and cattle.
It seems probable that the Israelites followed about the line of the ancient Canal till they reached the Red Sea. When at Etham they were north of the Sea, and could from thence strike northeast direct to Palestine, or southeast along the east shore of the Sea to Sinai, by either route avoiding the Sea; but instead of being led on either of these courses, they were, to their surprise, commanded to “turn” down the west shore of the Sea, where they had Mount Attaka on the south and southwest, and the Sea on the east. Thus they appeared to Pharaoh to be “entangled in the land,” or, rather, bewildered, perplexed in their movements. Exo 14:3.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 13:20. From Succoth, and encamped in Etham The Lord for wise and good reasons, not thinking proper to lead the people directly into Canaan through the land of the Philistines, which was but a journey of a few days, (see Exo 13:17.) conducted them towards the wilderness of Shur, ch. Exo 15:22.; upon the edge or extremity of which, next to Egypt, at the bottom of the Arabian gulph, lay Etham, where they made their second encampment. See Num 33:8.
REFLECTIONS. God is their Deliverer, and now becomes their Guide. The direct way was short; but God led them not by the shortest, but the safest way. If his ways seem winding, we may be satisfied he is a sure Guide. The Philistines were before them, and they must not see war as soon as they escape from slavery; they are not fit for such service yet. God knows how to proportion our trials to our strength, nor will he suffer his people to be tempted above what they are able. Besides, he had much to do among them, both in mercies and judgments; and a wilderness was the fittest place for his designs. Let us, therefore, commit all our ways unto the Lord.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
The Holy Ghost by his servant Paul hath given us sufficient authority to explain this pillar of cloud, this Shechinah, in express application to the Lord Jesus Christ, the great angel of the Covenant. 1Co 10:1-9 . And so again by Stephen in his sermon, who as expressly saith, that Christ was in the church in the wilderness, Act 7:37-38 . See Mic 2:13 . And who but Jesus goeth before his people now? The church in the wilderness enjoyed this standing miracle it is true, with their bodily eyes. But the precious manifestations now are not less certain. It is a voice behind us, or rather within us, saying, “This is the way” Isa 30:21 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 13:20 And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.
Ver. 20. From Succoth. ] Their first rendezvous. Exo 12:37
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Num 33:5, Num 33:6
Reciprocal: Gen 33:17 – Succoth Num 10:12 – took Jer 21:13 – I am