Immediately after the word about Joseph’s bones, we have a record regarding the leading and guidance of the Lord (13:20-21; see also 13:17-18; 12:37). This marvelous sequence indicates that God cannot guide people apart from resurrection life. His guidance is available only to bones that move in resurrection. When the dry bones become living and begin to walk out of Egypt, God’s guidance comes to them.
For many years I wondered why Joseph’s bones are mentioned in relation to the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire (13:19-22), both of which signify God Himself. The fact that the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire are mentioned in relation to Joseph’s bones indicates that God’s living leading and guidance are related to resurrection life. When the dead bones move, God’s leading comes. When we move in resurrection life, we spontaneously have God’s guidance.
Many Christians today are seeking the Lord’s will; they earnestly desire His leading and guidance. However, the more they seek these things, the less they have them. The reason for this lack is that these believers are not bones that have been buried and resurrected; they are not bones that move in the power of resurrection life. In order to have the Lord’s leading and guidance, the buried bones must be raised out of the tomb and begin to move.
Chapter twelve speaks of the exodus of the children of Israel, but nothing is said about the Lord’s leading. This is found in chapter thirteen. If the children of Israel had gone out of Egypt by themselves, they would have made a serious mistake. In order to make a proper exodus, they had to have the Lord’s guidance and leading.
In Exodus 12 we have the Lord’s command, and in Exodus 13 we have the Lord’s leading. In spiritual matters, it is not sufficient to have only the Lord’s command and not His leading. To have His command but not His leading would be tragic. His command must always be followed by His leading.
It was right for the children of Israel to observe the Passover. Their environment had been subdued by the Lord, and they were ready to march out of Egypt. However, as the concluding verses of chapter thirteen make clear, God’s people could have then taken one of two ways: the short way or the roundabout way. According to the natural understanding, they certainly would have chosen the short way, not the roundabout way that involved a long detour. However, the way the children of Israel were to take did not depend on them. It did not even depend on Moses or Aaron. It depended absolutely on the Lord’s leading through the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud. Apart from the Lord’s leading, God’s people had no right to move. If the children of Israel had moved without the Lord’s leading in the pillar of fire or in the pillar of cloud, they would have been moving on their own and in themselves. It is never right to do this in spiritual things. Along with God’s command, we must have His leading and His guidance. If He asks us to do something, we should not do it on our own. Instead, we should pray, “Lord, since You ask me to do this, You must guide me. Lead me by the pillar of fire or by the pillar of cloud.”
Although chapter thirteen may appear to be an insertion between chapters twelve and fourteen, actually it is not an insertion at all. On the contrary, this chapter is necessary. It reveals that we need the Lord’s guidance as well as His command.
Furthermore, this chapter reveals that the Lord’s guidance and leading come only when certain conditions are met. His leading and guidance are not unconditional. The first condition is sanctification. If we are not sanctified, we cannot have the Lord’s leading. We also need to experience the new beginning of an unleavened life. To be sanctified and to have the new beginning of a sinless life are the first two requirements to be able to receive the Lord’s guidance.
Another condition is resurrection. To be led of the Lord, we must not be in the natural man. Our bones must be resurrected and moving. Then, when we are no longer in the natural man, we shall have the Lord’s leading and guidance.
We have pointed out that the Bible refers to the natural man as flesh and blood. When Peter received the revelation that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Lord answered, “You are blessed, Simon Bar-jona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in the heavens” (Matt. 16:17). Furthermore, after Christ had been revealed to Paul, Paul did not confer with flesh and blood; that is, he did not confer with the natural man (Gal. 1:16). As we have pointed out, the moving of Joseph’s bones signifies resurrection. Although these bones were dry, they were still able to move. This is a picture of a man in resurrection. Such a person can be guided by the Lord and led by Him. When we are in resurrection, we are qualified to receive the Lord’s guidance and leading.
Actually, the Lord’s leading and guidance are simply the Lord Himself in the pillar of fire by night and in the pillar of cloud by day. As the children of Israel marched out of Egypt in martial array, they were led by the pillar of fire or the pillar of cloud. The Egyptians must have been terrified by such a sight.
The portrait of the children of Israel marching out of Egypt according to the Lord’s guidance reveals that the Lord’s leading is given only when we have fulfilled His conditions. We need to be sanctified, we need to have the new beginning of a sinless life, and we need to be in resurrection. Then we shall be guided by the Lord and led by Him.