EXODUS 37
The Israelites are on the run, the Egyptians are on their heal ready to capture and enslave them again. The Israelites have the mindset that it is better to be a slave than to fight for their freedom with the risk of being captured or killed.
It was then that Moses said to the people, “Have no fear. Stand by and witness the deliverance which the Lord will work for you today: for the Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again. The Lord will battle for you, and you hold your peace.”
Then Moses was instructed to hold up his rod and hold his arm over the sea so the waters would split and the Israelites would cross over on dry ground.
Then to add insult to injury to the Egyptians, God told Moses He, God was going “to stiffen” the hearts of the Egyptians so they would follow the Israelites into the river bed.
God was going to gain glory through Pharaoh and all his warriors, his chariots and his horsemen. This was to let the Egyptians know that I God am the Lord.
The angel of God had been going ahead of the Israelite army, but now moved and followed them instead. The pillar of cloud also went behind them rather than in its front position.
But what or who is the Angel of the Lord? We learn from Scripture that “an Angel” would lead the Israelites into the Promised Land and would keep them safe throughout their travels.
That very same angel of the Lord is mentioned throughout Scripture and usually had the role of leading God’s chosen people.
In fact we remember that Jacob struggled with that very angel. That angel also spoke to Moses on the top of Mount Sinai.
“In Hebrew, the word for ‘angel’ is ‘malak’ or ‘malech,’ which is derived from the Hebrew, ‘l’k, meaning, ‘to deliver a message’.
The ‘angel’ or ‘messenger’ who appeared to Moses and Jacob was Jesus Christ. It was Christ who dealt directly with ancient Israel and Judah. The Angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and the LORD saw him and God talked to him. That personage told Moses to remove his shoes because he was in a holy place. Joshua had a similar experience.
When created angels have come and talked to people in the Bible removing one’s shoes was never required. Also, we note that when God sent an angel to John and he fell down to worship the angel, theangel quickly told him not to do such things.
From this it follows that Moses and Joshua were in fact communicating with Jesus Christ, “the ‘Angel’ of the LORD”. It was indeed Jesus Christ who is being identified in these passages as the “Angel” of the LORD, or the Angel of God the Father’s Presence, because Christ said later that those who have seen Him, have seen the Father.
When the LORD said “My Presence” would go with the people, this could imply that it was Jesus Christ’s “Presence” leading the people. Isaiah’s reference to the “Presence of the Angel” saving the people would then apply to the “Presence” of God the Father, who would have been present through His “Messenger,” Jesus Christ.
And stated once again is the fact the angel of the Lord who had been going ahead of the Israelites now moved and followed behind, and it came between the army of the Egyptians and the army of Israel.
Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side, so neither went near the other all night long. Then the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind all that night. And that turned the sea into dry ground. The waters were split.
That is not quite the way it is portrayed on the big screen in the movie theatre, but we have Scripture that tell us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
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