And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
And - and so.
Baptized unto Moses - the representative of the Old Testament covenant, as Jesus, the Son of God, is of the Gospel covenant (John 1:17; Hebrews 3:5-6). The people were led to believe in Moses as God's servant by the miracle of the cloud, and by their being conducted safely through the Red Sea. "Baptized unto" him (Exodus 14:31) is thus equivalent to 'initiated into the Mosaic covenant:' introduced into relationship with him as the God-appointed leader. Paul's argument is, The Corinthians, it is true, have been "baptized," but so also were the Israelites; if the virtual baptism of the latter availed not to save them from the doom of lust, neither will the actual baptism of the former save them. The symbols also correspond: the cloud and sea consist of water. As these took the Israelites out of sight, then restored them again to view, so the water does to the baptized. The Egyptians represent the death-doomed old man; Israel, the newborn life. "The cloud" (symbol of the divine presence, Isaiah 4:5) and "the sea" may symbolize the Spirit and the water respectively (John 3:5; Acts 10:44-47). Christ is the pillar-cloud that screens us from God's hot wrath. Christ, "the light of the world," is our "pillar of fire" to guide us in this dark world. As the rock, when smitten, sent forth waters, so Christ, once for all smitten, sends forth the waters of the Spirit. As the manna bruised fed Israel, so Christ, when "it pleased the Lord to bruise Him," has become our spiritual food. A proof of inspiration is given in this, that the historical Scriptures, without the consciousness even of the authors, are tangible prophecies, as in the first germ the future tree is wrapped up.