The pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire not only protected the children of Israel but also fought the battle and gained the victory for them. After the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground, the Egyptians also went in after them into the midst of the sea. “And at the morning watch Jehovah looked down upon the camp of the Egyptians in the pillar of fire and of cloud and threw the camp of the Egyptians into confusion. And He caused their chariot wheels to swerve and made them drive with difficulty” (Exo. 14:24-25). The Egyptians were drowned and buried in the Red Sea; there remained not so much as one of them. So the children of Israel were altogether saved.
Whenever we suffer opposition or attack, we do not need to fear or do anything. We have God’s pillar of fire and of cloud, the glory as the manifestation of God’s presence, to guide and protect us and to fight for us to deliver us from the hand of our enemy that we may enjoy His full and complete salvation.
In Deuteronomy 1 Moses said to the children of Israel, “Do not be terrified, neither be afraid of them. Jehovah your God, who goes up before you, He will fight for you according to all that He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness,...who went before you in the way, to seek out for you a place for you to camp, in the fire by night to show you by which way you should go and in the cloud by day” (vv. 29-33). In all the way that the children of Israel journeyed, from the crossing of the Red Sea to the crossing of the Jordan River, it was God Himself who led them and carried them (v. 31). In the pillar of cloud by day and in the pillar of fire by night, God protected them and shined over them by the manifested glory of His presence; He sought out a place for them to camp and fought for them to overcome all their enemies.
This picture clearly portrays that from the time we were baptized into Christ, we, the New Testament believers, have the Spirit of God (the pillar of cloud) covering and sheltering us, and we also have the Word of God (the pillar of fire) giving forth light to shine on us and to lead us on the proper way. In the entire course of our journey we should neither act according to man’s opinion and choice nor depend on our own method and strength. Rather, we should allow the Spirit of God and the Word of God to lead us, protect us, and fight for us. In this way we are able to get through any environment, encounter, and even hardship and opposition to reach God’s purpose and accomplish God’s economy.
God led the children of Israel in their crossing of the Red Sea and their journeying in the wilderness with the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire as the guidance. The pillar of cloud typifies the Spirit, and the pillar of fire typifies the Word. Both the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire were the glory as the manifestation of God’s presence with His redeemed. In the day God’s presence appeared as the pillar of cloud for covering and sheltering, signifying the Spirit of God as the economical Spirit being poured upon us, filling us outwardly, for our work and move, and also covering and sheltering us all the time everywhere to bring to us God’s intimate and glorious presence. In the night God’s presence appeared as the pillar of fire shining forth, signifying the Word of God that conveys the light of life to shine in our darkness, leading us to walk in God’s way of light. The pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire were not only for guidance but also for protection and fighting. When opposition rises up against us, this guiding light becomes the protecting light to save us from the persecution and attack of the opposers and to fight for us to gain the victory. The children of Israel had the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire leading them, protecting them, and fighting for them all the way from the crossing of the Red Sea to the crossing of the Jordan River. This portrays that after we, the New Testament believers, are baptized into Christ, we have the Spirit of God covering and sheltering us, and we also have the Word of God giving forth light to shine on us and lead us on the proper way.