John Gill Commentary Exodus 14:19

"And the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud removed from before them, and stood behind them:" — Exodus 14:19 (ASV)

And the Angel of God which went before the camp of Israel ,
&c.] The Jews say ^F25 this was Michael, the great prince, who became a wall of fire between Israel and the Egyptians; and if they understood by him the uncreated angel, the eternal Word, the Son of God, who is always in Scripture meant by Michael, they are right: for certainly this Angel of the Lord is the same with Jehovah, who is said to go before them in a pillar of cloud and fire, (Exodus 13:21) :

removed, and went behind them ;
but because removing from place to place, and going forwards or backwards, cannot be properly said of a divine Person, who is omnipresent, and fills every place and space; this is to be understood of the emblem of him, the pillar of cloud, as the next clause explains it:

and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood
behind them ;
the Targum of Jonathan adds,

``because of the Egyptians, who cast arrows and stones, and the cloud received them;'' and so Jarchi; whereby the Israelites were protected and preserved from receiving any hurt by them: so Christ is the protection of his people from all their enemies, sin, Satan, and the world, that sin cannot damn them, nor Satan destroy them, nor the world overcome them; for his salvation is as walls and bulwarks to them, and he is indeed a wall of fire about them.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F25: Pirke Eliezer, c. 42.