GUIDANCE AFTER SALVATION AND BEFORE BAPTISM
Part 6
Exo. 13:20-22
Morning Meditation 11/7/16
Verses 20-22 say, “And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them 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.”
The reason I say, “Guidance after salvation and before baptism,” is because I want us to see that guidance for the child of God begins at salvation. The crossing of the Red Sea is a type of baptism (1 Cor. 10), and Israel got the cloud for guidance before their Red Sea experience.
I believe this is one of the greatest illustrations of guidance that can be found in Scripture. This was a visible cloud that they could follow by day and it was visible by night because it was illuminated by fire. This cloud spoke of His presence and His guidance.
Our text says, “And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham . . .” The question could have been asked, “Why are we traveling this way?” The answer is, “Don’t you see the cloud? We are here because the LORD has guided us here.” There is nothing more important to the Christian than to have His guidance. If we know we are where He wants us, we can endure the trials associated with the place. To go out on our own, and cease to follow the cloud, is to reject His guidance and leave His presence. (This is not to deny His Omnipresence).
What does the cloud typify? I believe it is symbolic of two things. It is a symbol of the Word and the Holy Spirit. It is hard to separate the two in the Word of God. The Word is Holy Spirit given and shows us the path in which He leads. He will never lead apart from the Word. In other words, He never leads contrary to the Word. His leadership will always be in harmony with the Word. We have safety in this. Let’s get the picture. Moses follows the cloud and the nation follows Moses. If Moses takes off in another direction, the people will have a right to ask, “Wait a minute Moses, you are not following the cloud!” This never happened. But it does happen today. Preachers claim to be following the Lord and what they are doing is contrary to the Scriptures. They are going in one direction and the cloud in another. You don’t have to follow them. It would be a mistake to follow them.
It says, “And the LORD went before them . . ..” The LORD was between them and what ever was out in front. If we are in Christ, then He is between us and any enemy that we have. All one has to do to be “in Christ” is to be saved. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
Then our text says, “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night.” The Lord does not only guide by day but also by night. Night is a time when you cannot see. There are night time experiences for the child of God. There are times when the Christian cannot see. He is where he is in the providence of God.. He did not come to the place out of the will of God. The cloud guided by day. But there was the end of the day. There were 14,600 days that ended in nights over the next forty years. The nights are the will of God also. As long as the believer is in this world, there will be nights. Maybe you are going through a night time experience now. You are so troubled over the crisis that has turned your day to night, that you are not aware that the cloud that was visible during the day, is illuminating your path by night. Pick up your Bible and you won’t read long until God will turn the light on. There will be a verse that suddenly turns the night into a place of illumination. The Holy Spirit is there to illuminate the Revelation. God’s guidance system is for the day and the night.
Then the Bible says, “He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.” There were times when the children of Israel were so disobedient and rebellious that God judged them severely. But He never took His guidance from them. The rebellious were without excuse. They had his guidance when they went astray, during the process of going astray and after they went astray, so they could see the way back. There is really no excuse for being out of the will of God. And God is so merciful and full of grace toward us, that He is there to show us the way back. But remember, the guidance that is still yours while you are out of the will of God, will only lead back to the WAY God requires for your return. You must follow God’s guidance back and it will always be back with the people of God to get in step with the OBEDIENT. You will not be able to continue to fellowship with the disobedient. And many will forsake God’s guidance before they will disassociate themselves from their rebellious friends.
Why don’t people come back when it is evident to them, and others standing around, that they are out of the will of God? Moses told Israel in Deut. 9:7: “Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.” God made every provision for Israel and instructed them in detail and identified with them in a visible form (the cloud and the Shekinah), and they still rebelled. Moses says again in Deut. 9:24, “Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.” Moses doesn’t mince words does he? He loved the children of Israel with a love none of their leaders after that ever had. He stood in the gap for them, and interceded for them, and got the LORD to turn away from His wrath toward them. His prayer to God at a time of rebellion is recorded in Exodus 32:32: “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.” But love for them, did not cause him to bend his message. He was straight with them. He rebuked their rebellion.
Some Christians just won’t get it right. Their rebellious nature, inherited from Adam, is constantly in control. They are saved BUT HAVE NEVER BEEN WILLING TO SUBMIT to a walk under authority. They are their own authority. Their opinion is the rule of their lives. Many a preacher when he has taken a new church has been thrilled to meet these people. They are good talkers but not good walkers! They welcome the preacher. They will put money in his hand when they shake it at times. They will take him out to eat. They will be his friend. That is, until he preaches the Word and insists that they practice it. Then he will discover they are not about to submit to authority. The flesh just won’t submit to authority except in a temporary situation where it is for its advantage. But it won’t stay under authority. You see, this is the decision that Adam made in the garden. I believe Adam repented. He came back under God’s authority. He recognized what he had done and repented. But it was too late to save his children from inheriting an old sin nature. The moment he sinned, he received a fallen nature that would be passed on to the whole human race.
Guidance involves submitting to authority. The LORD went before them. That means He decided the path or direction they would go. They either followed Him or rebelled. There were not alternate routes in the will of God. Oh, you could go another direction, but not in the will of God. Saved men do not have to submit to the Lordship of Christ and assume their responsibility of the leadership in the home. But they can’t reject this responsibility and be in the will of God. Wives can refuse to submit to their husbands. But, they can’t do it and be in the will of God. Church members can refuse to submit to the leadership of God’s man. But they can’t do it and be in the will of God. Submission is never easy. We have to discipline ourselves to submit to authority. If you tell me that submission is easy for you, I am going to tell you, that you are in denial.
What I am leading up to is that those who are incurably rebellious are simply those who refuse to deal with their old sin nature. They have the same ability to obey God as those who are constantly obeying the Lord. God has made all the provisions of guidance and power to obey. One Christian obeys the other does not.. The one who does not is going to constantly give his pastor problems and move from church to church and give problems everywhere he goes. He can repent and make a good church member but the stats say he won’t. God will have to deal with him in a different way, i.e., judgment.
The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night guaranteed guidance for all. And where ever this cloud led them, it was the will of God for them. We need to get behind the cloud and follow without complaint.
May the Lord bless these word to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
