THE KING’S BUSINESS
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unto God (Rom. 7:4; Gal. 3:27). The Israelites were saved through the Red Sea and the Christian is saved through baptism (Ex. 14:30; 1 Peter 3:21),. Not of course, through the mere application of water, but through the great experience that is not only typified by but brought out through the baptismal waters. The Red Sea expe rience was a wonderful type and more than a type of the believer’s baptism. (4) “Did all eat of the same spiritual meat.” The Israelites ate the manna; the bread from heaven, and this too was a type of Christ, the true bread from heaven (John 6:31-35). (5) They “did all drink of the same Spirit ual drink,” that is, the water that flowed from the smitten rock (Ex. 17:6). Christ Himself was the rock; the rock smitten in the wilderness was a type of Christ. The water that flows from the smitten rock is, of course, the Holy Spirit whom we receive through Christ smitten or crucified (John 4:14, cf. John 7:37-39). More than once was there a rock" at hand when needed, from which water flowed to thirsty people (Num. 20:8). But all these rocks typified the One Christ, One Rock, always at hand “a spiritual rock that followed them (cf. Ex. 33:15; Matt. 28:20). The thought of the Lord as a rock runs all through Scrip ture (Ps. 78:20, 35; Deut. 32:4, 15, 18, 31, 37; Isa. 26:4 R. V. and margin 28:16; 1 Peter 2:6). We see in this whole passage how wonderfully full of types of the deep est experiences of the Christian life the history of Israel is. If this history of Israel as recorded in the Old Testament is not true (as the“modern” critics would have us think) and if the record of it is not inspired, how came this “ancient myth” to be so full of such significant types of things which are true in us, and types, fur thermore, where everything fits exactly into its place. No one can thoroughly and can didly study the types of the PentateiJch and any longer accept those ingenious theories about the Pentateuch that some tell us are the fruit of the latest scholarship. The “new views” (they are not new but far older than any man now living; most of
the word “all” five times. Now what were the five privileges they enjoyed? (1) All .“were under the cloud.” The cloud, of course, means the protecting cloud of the shekinah presence of God which sheltered the Israelites from the heat of the sun by day and became luminous and gave them light by night. This cloud was not a mere pillar running straight up and down in the front or rear, but overspread all the camp and sheltered everyone in it (Ex. 13 jffi 22; Ps. 105:39; Isa. 4:5). The cloud was a type of Christ, Who is “God with us,” and who goes before us to lead us and to shelter us. (Isa. 7:14 R. V.; 32:2; John 1:14; 8:12). (2) All “passed through the sea:” the protecting care of God led every one of them safely across to the other side. Not one of them was overtaken by the wild rush of the returning waters. Not one of them even got his feet wet (Ex. 14:29, 30). (3) All “were baptized.” Baptism is an initiation or an introduction, into fel lowship (Gal. 3:27). The Israelites by the Red Sea experience were brought into full outward fellowship with Moses, who was a representative of the Old Covenant; just as the Christian by Christian baptism is brought into fellowship (if it is merely outward baptism, outward fellowship, if it is real inward baptism as well, real inward fellowship also) with Christ, the represent ative of the New Covenant. At the Red Sea, the Israelites left Egypt behind and was shut up unto Moses; at the baptismal waters, the Christian leaves the world behind and is shut up unto Christ. (Com pare also “the flood” when Noah left the old world behind, which is also a type of bap tism 1 Peter 3:21). At the Red Sea, there was for the Israelite a death, burial and resurrection; they came forth from those waters a new people, on resurrection ground (Ex. 14:30). So also there is in true Christian baptism a death, burial and resurrection (Rom. 6:4). From the real baptism into Christ (not merely the water baptism, in mere form) we come forth on resurrection ground into newness of life in Christ, empowered to bring forth fruit
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