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Israel’s experience at Elim is a picture of the experience of resurrection life, which issues from the experience of the cross at Marah. At Elim there were twelve springs flowing and seventy palm trees growing. In the Bible a spring signifies life that flows out of God in resurrection into His chosen people (John 4:10,14;7:37-39;Rev. 22:1), and palm trees signify life that is flourishing (Psa. 92:12), rejoicing in satisfaction (Lev. 23:40;Neh. 8:15), and victorious over tribulation (John 12:13;Rev. 7:9). The number twelve signifies the mingling of divinity with humanity for the complete and perfect carrying out of God’s administration eternally (seenote Rev. 21:122bandnote Rev. 21:131a, andnote Rev. 22:24). Seventy equals seven times ten. The number seven signifies completion and perfection in God’s dispensational move (seenote Rev. 2:291a), and the number ten signifies fullness (seenote Rev. 2:102g). Hence, the number seventy signifies completion and perfection temporally for God’s dispensational move in full. Thus, the twelve springs at Elim signify God as living water flowing into His chosen people to be mingled with them for the accomplishing of His eternal administration, and the seventy palm trees signify God as life growing in His people to carry out His administration dispensationally to express the riches of the divine life and its victory.

When used together, the numbers twelve and seventy signify that God’s people are to carry out His ministry (Exo. 24:1,4;Luke 9:1;10:1) by the flowing life signified by the twelve springs and the growing life signified by the seventy palm trees.