Message 29
Scripture Reading: Exo. 14:10-12, 16, 29-31; 15:1-21; Heb. 11:29; 1 Cor. 10:1-2; 1 Pet. 3:20-21
God’s full salvation includes the Passover, the exodus, and the crossing of the Red Sea. Through the Passover the children of Israel were saved from God’s judgment. When they were in Egypt, they were like the Egyptians; they were sinful and even worshipped idols (Ezek. 20:7-8). Along with the Egyptians, they were under the righteous judgment of God. According to God’s righteous judgment, they were under the sentence of death. Therefore, the children of Israel needed the Passover lamb to be their substitute. Because the blood of the lamb had been applied to the doorposts of their houses, God in His righteous judgment could pass over them.
However, not only were the children of Israel under God’s judgment; they were also under the tyranny of Pharaoh. They had been usurped by Pharaoh to serve as slaves to carry out the purpose of the Egyptians. Hence, the children of Israel had two serious problems: God’s judgment and Pharaoh’s tyranny. Although the Passover was adequate to save them from God’s judgment, it was not effective to rescue them from the usurpation of the Egyptians. In order to be saved from Egyptian tyranny, the children of Israel needed the exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea.
If the children of Israel had had only the exodus but not the crossing of the Red Sea, their salvation would not have been secure. It would have been possible for them to return to Egypt. God was greatly concerned that the people might attempt to do this. Without the crossing of the Red Sea, there would have been no separating line. In 13:17 the Lord expressed a concern lest the “people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.” Later, at the time of Numbers 14:4, some of the rebellious ones said, “Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.” Therefore, in order to have a thorough and absolute deliverance from Egypt, the children of Israel had to make their exodus and also cross over the separating line by passing through the Red Sea.
In His creation God prepared the Red Sea to serve as a baptistry for His chosen people. Then during the exodus He led the people to this baptistry. This was no accident; it was according to the plan of God. God wanted to bring His people into a situation where it was impossible for them to go back to Egypt. In this message we need to consider the significance of Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea.
In 1 Corinthians 10:1 and 2 Paul says that “our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” This indicates that the crossing of the Red Sea was a type of baptism. The cloud here refers to the pillar, which was the Lord Himself as the One leading the people.
First Peter 3:20 and 21 indicate that the passing of Noah’s ark through the flood was also a type of baptism. By the ark and through the water Noah and the members of his family were saved from God’s judgment and from the evil, corrupt, and condemned world. The same flood which judged the world also separated those in the ark from the world. After the flood waters had abated, Noah and his family found themselves in a new realm, in a new world, where they could serve God. The flood had separated them from the old realm and had brought them into a new realm. Immediately after coming out of the ark, Noah built an altar and offered sacrifice to the Lord (Gen. 8:20).
The principle is the same with the crossing of the Red Sea. In Egypt the children of Israel were involved with the evil, corrupt, and condemned world and were under God’s judgment. The Passover, which typified Christ, saved them from God’s judgment, just as the ark, also a type of Christ, saved Noah and his family from God’s judgment. Furthermore, just as Noah’s family needed to be saved from the world through water, so the children of Israel also needed to be saved from Egypt through water. With the children of Israel we see both the blood and the water. The blood of the Passover lamb saved them from God’s judgment, and the water saved them from the tyranny of the Egyptians.
In contrast to the children of Israel, the vast majority of today’s Christians have been saved only by the blood and not also through the water. Many have been baptized in a ritualistic way, but such a baptism is not an experience of the saving, separating water. In the case of Noah’s family and that of the children of Israel, the water was a means both of salvation and of separation. If we had only the teaching of the New Testament without the pictures in Genesis and Exodus, we would not have a thorough understanding of baptism. It was through baptism that God’s people were saved from the slavery of Egypt and the tyranny of Pharaoh. In the same principle, it is through baptism that believers today are saved from the world and from the satanic power of darkness. (Later on we shall see that the baptism typified by the crossing of the river Jordan signifies the deliverance from the old man. In this message we are concerned only with the aspect of baptism typified by the crossing of the Red Sea.)
Baptism makes our salvation secure. If we have only the Passover and the exodus without the crossing of the Red Sea, our salvation will not be secure. The crossing of the Red Sea of baptism seals our salvation. When we baptize new believers, we should help them understand the significance of baptism. We should tell them that after they have been saved through Christ as the Passover, they need to pass through the water which separates them from the world and from the power of darkness.
In 1 Corinthians 10:2 Paul says that the children of Israel were all “baptized unto Moses.” Moses was a type of Christ and a representative of Christ. Hence, by being baptized unto Moses, the children of Israel actually were baptized unto Christ. Christ, not Moses, is the real leader. Moses was simply a figure of Christ. Today we who believe in Christ have been baptized unto Christ. For this reason, Galatians 3:27 speaks of being “baptized into Christ.” Having been baptized into Christ, we are now under the leadership of Christ. Before the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, they took Moses as their leader, but not to a very great extent. However, after they crossed the Red Sea, “the people feared Jehovah, and believed Jehovah, and his servant Moses” (Exo. 14:31, Heb.), for they had been baptized unto Moses. Likewise, we have been baptized not unto a denomination, practice, belief, or doctrine, but unto Christ, our Leader and our Head.
In 1 Corinthians 10:2 Paul says that they also were baptized “in the cloud and in the sea.” The cloud signifies the Spirit. When we were baptized, we were baptized into the Spirit. In one Spirit we were baptized into one Body.
Furthermore, God’s people were baptized in the sea, which signifies the death of Christ (Rom. 6:3). In the death of Christ, signified by the water of baptism, we are terminated and buried. When a new believer is baptized, he should realize that he is being baptized both into the Spirit and into the death of Christ. The Spirit should not be separated from Christ’s death. Just as the cloud and the sea were one, so the Spirit and the death of Christ are one.
The death of Christ deals with matters on the negative side, whereas the Spirit takes care of matters on the positive side. On the one hand, a number of negative things must be dealt with. On the other hand, the believers need to be encouraged positively to go on with the Lord. Negatively, the water terminated Pharaoh and his army. Positively, the cloud was the means by which the children of Israel were led on their journey. Praise the Lord for both the negative and positive sides of baptism! When a new believer is baptized, all negative things are terminated and buried. Then the Spirit as a pillar of cloud leads him on in his journey with the Lord.
Baptism requires faith. Hebrews 11:29 says, “By faith they passed through the Red Sea as through dry land, which the Egyptians attempting to do were swallowed up.” In Colossians 2:12 baptism is also related to faith. The children of Israel needed faith in order to cross the Red Sea. At first, however, they had no faith at all. Seeing a mass of water in front of them and the Egyptian army behind them, they cried out to the Lord and complained to Moses: “Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?” (14:11). Although the people had no faith, faith came when God came in to speak a word. The Lord was not angry with the people for their lack of faith, even though they had just witnessed His mighty and miraculous acts in Egypt. To Moses, who as a human was no doubt troubled by the situation, the Lord said, “Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: but lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea” (14:15-16). When Moses received this word from the Lord, the children of Israel spontaneously had the faith to cross the Red Sea.
According to 14:21 and 22, the “waters were divided” and were a “wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.” Furthermore, 15:8 says that “the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.” On the one hand, the waters were heaped up; on the other hand, they were congealed. For the waters to be heaped up means that they were piled up like stones. But for the waters to be congealed means that they were changed from a liquid to a solid state. Although the waters had been divided, heaped up, and congealed, it still required faith for the children of Israel to pass through them. Without the necessary faith, the people certainly would have complained to Moses about entering a watery tomb. If we had been there, we probably would have been afraid to step into the midst of the divided waters. The children of Israel, however, became people of faith. Following Moses, they walked into the sea and crossed it.
By crossing the Red Sea, the children of Israel were saved from Egypt and also brought into a realm of freedom. What a salvation! In principle, baptism is the same for us today. It saves us from bondage and brings us into absolute freedom in Christ. As Colossians 2:12 makes clear, this is accomplished “through the faith of the operation of God.” Therefore, as we baptize people, we must encourage them to exercise faith in God as the One who operates. There is no doubt that the crossing of the Red Sea was accomplished through God’s operation. As we baptize new believers, we ourselves need faith, and we need to help those who are being baptized to have faith as well. The new converts need to realize what is happening to them at the time of baptism. They need faith to enter into the water of baptism and to pass through it. What a difference it makes when everyone participating in a baptism is full of faith!
The Egyptians presumed to follow the children of Israel into the sea. Exodus 14:23 says, “And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.” However, the Lord confused the army of the Egyptians, and took off their chariot wheels (vv. 24-25, Heb.). Then God commanded Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea so that the waters would “come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen” (v. 26). When Moses did so, “the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them” (v. 28, Heb.). Pharaoh and the Egyptian army were buried in the sea. This is a clear picture that in baptism Satan and the power of the world are buried. It is a fact that the Egyptians were terminated in the Red Sea. But the significance of this fact is that when we were baptized, Satan and the world with its tyranny were terminated. When we baptize others, we must tell them that as they are buried in baptism, Satan and the world will be buried also. How impressive is the crossing of the Red Sea as a picture of baptism! When we consider this picture in the light of the New Testament, we have a clear view of the significance of baptism.
Referring to the water of baptism typified by the flood in Genesis, 1 Peter 3:20 speaks of being “saved through water” (Gk.). We have pointed out that both Noah’s family and the children of Israel were saved through water. Through water God’s people were saved from Egypt and its slavery, that is, from the world and its usurpation (13:3, 14). Furthermore, they were saved to the wilderness of separation, that is, to a realm which is for the accomplishment of God’s purpose (3:18). In the wilderness the people built the tabernacle as God’s dwelling place. This was for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. The water through which they were saved and separated from Egypt brought them into a realm where there was no bondage or slavery. In this realm there was the freedom to fulfill God’s purpose by building the tabernacle as God’s dwelling place on earth. This indicates that through water we are saved from the world to a realm where we can accomplish God’s purpose.
Immediately after crossing the Red Sea, Moses and the children of Israel sang a song to the Lord (15:1-18). This song must have been composed by Moses. In Revelation 15:2-4 it is referred to as the song of Moses. In Exodus 15 the children of Israel sang this song on the shore of the Red Sea; they praised God for victory over the forces of Pharaoh by His triumphant deliverance through the judging waters of the Red Sea. In Revelation 15 a number of overcomers sing this song again on the glassy sea as an indication that they are victorious over the power of Antichrist, who is judged by God with the fire of the glassy sea (Rev. 19:20). In both cases the principle is the same: God’s people are saved through the sea, and now they can sing praises to God.
In 15:1-12 the children of Israel praised God’s salvation and victory. Salvation is related to God’s people, and victory is related to God’s enemy. At the same time God defeated the enemy, He also saved His people. How beautiful is the poetic expression of praise concerning this!
Using the perfect tense, verse 13 says, “Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.” Notice that this verse speaks of God’s habitation, even though the temple as God’s dwelling place was not built until centuries later.
Verses 14 and 15 say that the peoples will be afraid, that the inhabitants of Philistia will be sorrowful, that the princes of Edom will be amazed, that trembling will take hold of the mighty men of Moab, and that the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away. In poetic form, this is a prophecy that the children of Israel would defeat the Philistines, the descendants of Esau and Moab, and all the Canaanites, and would take possession of the good land.
In verse 17 we are told that the Lord would plant His people in the mountain of His inheritance, in the place which He has made to dwell in. This place is the sanctuary which His hands have established. Pay attention to the phrase “the mountain of thine inheritance.” Although we regard the good land as the inheritance of the children of Israel, here Moses speaks of it as the inheritance of God. The children of Israel were to be planted as a living organism on the mountain of God’s inheritance. I believe that the mountain here refers to Mount Zion. With respect to God’s sanctuary, this verse also uses the perfect tense: “The sanctuary, Jehovah, which thy hands have established” (Heb.).
Verse 18 refers to the kingdom: “Jehovah shall reign for ever and ever” (Heb.). God’s habitation, God’s house, brings in God’s kingdom. When God has a habitation, a house, on the earth, His kingdom will be established through His house. Today the church is firstly God’s house and then His kingdom. The church will bring in His kingdom to the earth (Eph. 2:19-20; Rom. 14:17; Matt. 16:18-19).
As we read 15:1-18, we realize that the goal of God’s salvation is the building of His dwelling place for the establishment of His kingdom. Even though Moses did not enter into the good land, much less see the building of the temple, he could still praise the Lord for His sanctuary, His dwelling place.
The mention of God’s habitation here indicates that baptism leads to the church life. Baptism saves people out of the world into a realm that is for God’s purpose. The purpose God desires to fulfill in this realm is the building up of His dwelling place, which is typified firstly by the tabernacle and then by the temple. The tabernacle was built near Mount Sinai. Centuries later, the temple was built on Mount Zion. However, as God’s dwelling place, the tabernacle and the temple are one. The tabernacle was constructed within a year after the exodus from Egypt, and it remained with the people until the temple was built. The contents of the tabernacle were then placed in the temple. This points to a blending of the tabernacle with the temple, both of which typify the church.
God’s goal in bringing the children of Israel through the Red Sea was to have a dwelling place. Before the tabernacle was erected, God did not have a dwelling place on earth. He could have such a dwelling place only after He had secured a people who had been redeemed, who had passed through the Red Sea, and who had entered into a separated realm where they were free from all bondage.
Exodus 40:2 says, “On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.” This indicates that on the first day of the second year, according to the new calendar, God’s dwelling place among the children of Israel was set up. We cannot emphasize enough that to have such a dwelling place is the goal of God’s salvation. Moses knew that God’s goal was not merely to save His people out of tyranny; he knew that it was to have a people set free from the world and brought into a realm of freedom for the building of His dwelling place. Because Moses knew God’s heart, God’s will, and God’s goal, he could truly be called a man of God.
As we read through the Old Testament, we should focus our attention on this goal. In chapter fifteen Moses used three expressions related to God’s goal: habitation, dwelling place, and sanctuary. These expressions describe the same thing. God’s habitation is the place where He dwells, and this place is His sanctuary. Today the church is God’s habitation, His dwelling place, and the sanctuary.
After the tabernacle was erected, war broke out. God’s enemies rose up in an attempt to frustrate the building of the temple. These enemies included the peoples, the Edomites, the Moabites, the Philistines, and the Canaanites. The peoples signify the unbelievers, the heathen. The descendants of Esau, the Edomites, signify those who are natural, those who are not chosen, redeemed, regenerated, and transformed. The descendants of Lot, the Moabites, signify the fleshy ones, for their source was an act of incest, a grossly sinful and fleshy deed. The Philistines signify worldly Christians, those who live between Egypt and the good land. There are a great many such worldly believers today. Finally, the Canaanites are related to the evil powers in the heavenlies.
Just as the children of Israel were troubled by all these enemies, so we in the Lord’s recovery have also been attacked by the evil powers of darkness. The aim of all the attack, opposition, and evil speaking is to hinder the building of God’s dwelling place for the fulfillment of His purpose. God’s purpose is the building. This is God’s goal, and it is our goal as well. But the intention of the enemy in his attack is to keep God’s people from reaching this goal. Nevertheless, in the eyes of God, this goal has already been achieved. This was the reason Moses used the perfect tense in speaking of God’s habitation. In the same principle, the apostle John used the past tense in describing the New Jerusalem to indicate that from God’s point of view His purpose to gain the building has already been accomplished. All the attack and opposition are actually positive signs, indicators that the building of God’s temple is assured.
As we baptize new converts, we need the faith and the boldness to speak to them about the goal of their baptism. We must tell them that baptism is intended to bring them to God’s habitation, to the mountain of God’s inheritance, where His people are planted. When we have been brought through baptism to the place of God’s inheritance, God will be able to build the dwelling place as His sanctuary.
In 15:20 and 21 we see that Miriam followed Moses’ lead to praise the victory of Jehovah. The order here is good and proper: the men took the lead, and the women followed. The song of Miriam is actually a repetition of part of the song of Moses. Although she praised the Lord for triumphing gloriously, she did not speak of God’s habitation. This indicates that although the sisters may be very zealous and inspired, they may not be altogether clear about God’s goal. Nevertheless, their praises are still good. But as these verses show, the sisters should follow the brothers, not go ahead of them.
