MIKVEH MAYIM IN THE CLOUD AND IN THE SEA
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ISRAEL'S MIKVEH MAYIM IN THE CLOUD & IN THE SEA:
"Moreover brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and all were (mikveh-mayim) baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea and all did eat the same spiritual meat. And did all drink of that Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."
What does it mean to be baptized in a cloud? Or baptized in the sea? First of all, notice who the Apostle Paul calls the "fathers" of the believers here in Corinth. Paul speaks of the Israelites as the church fathers. What made them children of Israel? Faith. They made the conscious decision to live by faith, and to wholy follow the Lord, whose Divine Presence manifested to them at that time, in a magnificent cloud that towered into the sky and overshadowed them from the burning heat, in a protective way. Some of you have made spiritual fathers of those whose doctrine has little to do with scripture.
Secondly, look at whom Paul addresses this epistle about being baptized in the cloud and in the sea to: It's directed to the Corinthians,among whom Paul had planted the church at Ephesus on his second missionary journey. Corinth was built on a narrow isthmus tying the Peloponnesian Penninsula to the Greek mainland. During the first century, Corinth was the capital of Achia, the seat of the Roman procounsel governing southern and central Greece. By divine inspiration of God this epistle is not addressed to the Corinthians alone, but it's addressed to all believers in Christ, for all time.
Paul's tremendous success in Corinth, surely had to do with the fact that he determined to know nothing among them, but Christ and Him crucified." (1 Cor. 2:2, 3:6-10) The pillar of cloud that accompanied the children during their wilderness journey was "the divine presence of God," who never forsook them in all of their trials, as they journeyed toward the Promised Land.(Nehemiah 9:19) Israel followed the guidance of the cloud. (Exodus 40:36,Psalm 78:14)
ISRAEL MARCHED UNDER GOD'S AUTHORITY IN THE CLOUD
COMING UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF YESHUA & HIS PROVISION:
"All our fathers were under the cloud." (1 Cor. 10:1)
Israel marched under the pillar of cloud by day, as we see in Exodus 13:21, 14:19) and it covered or you could say immersed them in God's presence. Hadn't they known God back in Egypt? Yes, but when they all partook of the lamb for a house, they entered into covenant with God in a renewed way. There was not a weak nor feeble one among them. Some became weak and sick along the way, as they lost sight of the revelation of God, but to begin with, it was a tremendous miracle of God to see all of one mind and one accord focused on God for their direction, and living in divine health as such a large body of people. (Psalm 105:37)
All were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the Sea. (1 Cor. 10:2)
The immersion was complete for all of them in the sea around them, and the cloud over them. Moses was their leader, and the scriptures emply the term "EIS" or into concerning the relationship of the Israelites to Moses, even as EIS or "into" speaks also of our baptism into Christ Jesus, in Acts 2:38, Acts 8:16, Acts 10:46-48, Acts 19:5, and Galatians 3;27
And baptized in the sea...(1 Cor. 10:2)
If you, in your wildest dreams can imagine this Red Sea crossing, picture this: In order for such a massive amount of people to pass through the Red Sea in one night, here's one possible idea. If they crossed on a narrow path, double file;the line would be 800 miles long and would require 35 days and nights to get through. So there had to be space in the Red Sea, 3 miles wide for them to get through. They had to walk 5000 abreast to cross in one night.
FEEDING ON SPIRITUAL MEAT:
"They ate the same spiritual meat. (1 Cor. 10:3)
This is a reference of the manna given miraculously by God in the wilderness. (Exodus 16:13) It's termed "spiritual" because of it's heavenly origin or character, even as Jesus is the True Bread of heaven, which the manna merely typifies or symbolized. Consider this: The Quartermaster general of the army calculates, and our friend Norm Fishler emailed us the article; that Moses would have had to have 1500 tons of food per day to feed this many people. Two freight trains, each a mile long would be needed to bring in the rations. They were in the desert, so would need 4000 tons of firewood and trains to bring it in just for one days supply of meals.
For they drank of that spiritual rock which followed them. (1 Cor. 10:4)Theirs was an abundant and continual access to a supernatural supply of water for the thirsty Israelites. It's been calculated by modern sources, that for these 3 million Israelites to have an adequate water supply, to drink and wash their dishes; 11,000,000 gallons of water would be required each day, and a freight train with tank cars, 1800 miles long to bring in the water. They followed God by faith, as obviously they didn't wait to accumulate provisions of this sort. But when needs arose, God met them, as Israel placed their trust in Him.
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