In the book of Exodus we see Christ as the delivering Angel, as the speaking Moses, and as the redeeming and nourishing lamb. The house of Israel enjoyed all these aspects of Christ. They enjoyed both the blood of the lamb and the life of the lamb. Through this enjoyment they were set free and received the strength to make their exodus out of Egypt. When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, the Egyptian forces followed them. But God buried them all under the flood of water, just as soon as the house of Israel walked through the water as on dry land. Hence, the Israelites were not only redeemed from God’s judgment; they were also delivered from the bondage of the Egyptians. Christ is the delivering Angel, the speaking Moses, and the redeeming Lamb with the cleansing blood and the nourishing, strengthening life. By applying this Christ to our situation, we are redeemed, released, and delivered from Satan’s bondage. Hallelujah, we are free!
First Corinthians 5:7 and 8 say, “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” These verses indicate clearly that the Passover in the Old Testament is a type of Christ. Christ is our Passover. Every day we enjoy Him as the unleavened bread, as the sinless element. Day by day we feast, not only on the flesh of the Lamb, but also upon this unleavened bread. We have escaped from Egypt, and we have been delivered from the bondage of Satan. Now we are free to follow the Lord in the wilderness, where there is no more bondage.
However, as we follow the Lord in the wilderness, we still need to eat and drink. As the children of Israel were journeying through the wilderness, Christ came to them again. When they were in Egypt, He came as the Angel, as Moses, and as the Lamb. But in the wilderness He came as “a small round thing,” “like coriander seed,” for the purpose of nourishing, strengthening, satisfying, and energizing them (Exo. 16:14-15, 31). The house of Israel called the name of this small, round thing manna (Exo. 16:31). Without this manna, the Israelites could not have journeyed through the wilderness. Praise the Lord that day by day Christ came from the heavens to visit them and to give them nourishment!
The Passover took place just one time, but eating the manna is a daily matter. We need to feed upon Christ as the manna every morning. In fact, we need to enjoy Christ at least three times a day, eating Him in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. Do you enjoy Christ like this? Did you eat Him as your breakfast this morning? This morning for my physical breakfast I had some German bread. It was very solid; and it energized me, satisfied me, and strengthened me. Christ is much more solid than German bread. We must daily enjoy Him as our breakfast. Christ also should be our lunch at noon and our dinner in the evening. He is not only our Angel, our Moses, and our Lamb; He is our daily, heavenly manna.
Christ is also the rock flowing with living water (Exo. 17:6). Christ is our spiritual food and our spiritual drink. First Corinthians 10:3 and 4 say, “And did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” Oh, we all must enjoy Christ to such an extent! Day by day, He is the manna and He is the rock that follows us. Whenever we are thirsty, we can drink of the living water flowing from this rock. As the heavenly manna and the heavenly drink, Christ surely is our daily supply. Certainly this is the kernel in the book of Exodus. Today we are enjoying this kernel.
We have seen that the house of Israel was under bondage in Egypt and that Christ came as the Angel, as Moses and as the Lamb to redeem and deliver them. In the wilderness the Israelites were nourished daily by the manna and the living water. Now we must see the issue of this enjoyment of Christ. In Exodus 19:4 the Lord said, “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.” In Exodus 25:8 we see God’s purpose in bringing the house of Israel out of Egypt to Himself. In this verse the Lord commanded Moses, “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” God told the children of Israel to build Him a tabernacle, and they did build a tabernacle for Him. This tabernacle, the dwelling place of God, also signified the house of Israel.