Quenching Them with the Living Water

God quenched them with the living water (1 Cor. 10:4a), typifying the overflowing Spirit (John 7:37-39), out of the cleft rock (Exo. 17:1-6), typifying the crucified Christ (John 19:34; 1 Cor. 10:4b). The rock in the wilderness was a moving rock following them in the wilderness. This rock typifies the crucified Christ in resurrection. He was crucified, but now He is living in resurrection as the source of the overflowing Spirit for our supply.

Defeating the Amalekites

On the way in the wilderness, there were also enemies, the Amalekites. God defeated the Amalekites (signifying the flesh of the believers—Gal. 5:16-24) for them (Exo. 17:8-16). The first enemy that frustrates us from following the Lord is our flesh.

Establishing Them as a Kingdom with Authorities

Eventually, after all of God’s provisions and loving care, He established them as a kingdom (19:6) with authorities (Moses typifying Christ as the head authority, and the captains of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens as deputy authorities) to keep their condition in a good order (18:13-26). These captains were the deputy authorities among the children of Israel. Through these deputy authorities they were kept in good order.

By God’s bearing them through the wilderness, the children of Israel were supplied with all kinds of divine provisions and also established as a nation. Eventually, this nation became a kingdom. In Exodus 19:6 God said that He chose the children of Israel to make them a kingdom of priests.

Thus, we can see the bitter waters changed into sweet waters in Exodus 15, the manna in chapter 16, the living water out of the cleft rock in chapter 17, the defeat of the Amalekites in chapter 17, the establishment of the children of Israel as a nation in chapter 18, and their being called a kingdom in chapter 19.