This chapter consists of four main stages:
•• God,
by design, draws Pharaoh’s Egyptian army to follow hard on the Children of
Israel. His purpose is to entrap that army and demonstrate the power of
Almighty God against an overweening and wicked sovereign;
•• The
murmuring of God’s people due to their lack of faith (murmurs always arise from
that cause);
•• God’s
final Operations Order to Moses revealing His perfect plan to both save Israel
and destroy Pharaoh;
•• National
Israel is baptized, in toto, under waters of the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army is
destroyed, in toto, in those same waters. “Moreover, brethren, I would not
that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and
all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and
in the sea.” (1 Cor 10:1-2)
God instructs the Israelites in their journey
1 And
the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp
before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before
it shall ye encamp by the sea. 3 For
Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the
wilderness hath shut them in. 4 And
I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be
honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that
I am the LORD. And they did so. 5 And
it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh
and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we
done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? 6 And he made ready his chariot,
and took his people with him: 7 And
he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and
captains over every one of them. 8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he
pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with
an high hand. 9 But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and
chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them
encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon. (Exodus
14:1-9)
One clear note is sounded here on the Lord’s plan: He brings the Children of
Israel to a seeming impasse in the marshes of the Red Sea – not for their ruin,
but to demonstrate His mighty power to save. The Children of Israel were
seemingly trapped in their position – hemmed in by marshes on one side, and the
Sea on the other. They appeared easy pickings for the Egyptians. God not only
knows the thoughts of the hearts of His people, but He also reads the thoughts
of the hearts of the wicked. He knows Pharaoh’s character like a book because
He is the one who made him. The mysteries of God are beyond our finding out.
That which is a means of salvation to the people of God is also found to be
trap for their enemies. As my Korean wife says: “God will kill ONE bird with
TWO stones.”
The Israelites murmur
10 And
when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and,
behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the
children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. 11 And they said unto Moses, Because there were no
graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore
hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? 12 Is not this the word that we did
tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For
it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in
the wilderness. 13 And
Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of
the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen
to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 14 The LORD shall fight for you, and
ye shall hold your peace.” (Exodus
14:10-14)
It is easy to imagine the awe and fear of the defenseless Children of Israel as
they see such a mighty army arrayed in all of the best accoutrements of war
against them. Imagine: God has worked so many miracles in Egypt on the behalf
of Israel. He has sent ten great plagues against the Egyptians, yet they
remained untouched by those plagues. But they still doubt the power of the Lord
to save them from Pharaoh’s army. Are we not the same faithless people today as
were those of that day? One thing the Christian should always bear in mind:
regardless of our triumph over mighty armies, the Battle is the Lord’s. “Thus
saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great
multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.” (2
Chron 20:15)
Here we see that amazing promise of God in verses 13 &
14: 13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still,
and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the
Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” If we stand still with faith,
the Lord will do the fighting and the good works of our lives. We need take
credit for no victory or any good works apart from the Lord.
God instructs Moses
15 And
the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the
children of Israel, that they go forward: 16 But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine
hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry
ground through the midst of the sea. 17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the
Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh,
and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that
I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots,
and upon his horsemen. 19 And
the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind
them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind
them: 20 And
it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a
cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the
one came not near the other all the night. (Exodus
14:15-20)
The Light of God issuing forth from the cloud toward Israel at night was light
to them, but the dark cloud was the side that faced the enemy and caused them
to stumble in darkness. This cloud by day and fire by night was the very Angel
of God – the Lord Himself. He went before the Children to point the Way; and He
moved behind them when protection and salvation were necessary. The Lord Jesus
Christ was that One who followed the Children in the wilderness. “ . . . for
they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”
(1 Cor 10:4)
Jesus is the Captain of our souls, and He is the One who “has our back” in
battle.
The Israelites pass through the Red Sea
21 And
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go
back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the
waters were divided. 22 And
the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and
the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. (Exodus
14:21-22)
The outstretched hand of Moses represented the outstretched
arm of God. It is a sweet grace of God that He allows His children to have a ‘hand’
in His mighty works – but it is His power that parts the waters and not that of
Moses! This miracle of the parting of the waves of the Red Sea is most
extraordinary. The waters at the point of crossing are said to be more than 75
ft. deep. Imagine the two walls of water (one on the advancing side and the
other on the receding side) being held erect and in place to make a way for the
Children of Israel to cross over. That strong east wind was a heated tempest
that dried the ground under their feet. Coming from the east, it must of
necessity pass over the Empty Quarter of the Arabian Desert – the largest
desert in the world (just to the east of the Red Sea). The air is completely
devoid of humidity and will dry anything it touches.
23 And
the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all
Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And it came to pass, that in the
morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar
of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, 25 And took off their chariot wheels,
that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the
face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. (Ex
14:23-25)
The Egyptians pursued on the heels of the Children of Israel
into the bed of the Sea. But the Pillar of Fire that followed them waited its
due season to slam the door of the trap on the Egyptians. Once the entire
Egyptian army was in the bed of the Sea, God peered back at them from the Cloud
and the Light was blinding and caused confusion for the chariots and cavalry of
the Egyptians. IT is likely that the traces and horses of the chariots became
entangled together and must have been abandoned. It is interesting to note that
a number of chariot wheels have been discovered fairly well preserved at the
bottom of the Red Sea only recently.
26 And
the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters
may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their
horsemen. 27 And
Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his
strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the
LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 And the waters returned, and
covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came
into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. 29 But the children of Israel walked
upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on
their right hand, and on their left. 30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand
of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. 31 And Israel saw that great work
which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed
the LORD, and his servant Moses. (Ex 14:26-31)
To have experienced such a mighty work of God in their
salvation would seem to have sealed their faith forever, but succeeding history
proves that these stiff-necked people took occasion to murmur against Moses and
the Lord at a later time as if the Lord had never lifted a hand in their
defense. How fickle are we in trusting both the power and mercy of God!
It seems God sanctifies not only individuals, but nations,
to His purpose as He did here with the descendants of our father, Abraham. The
entire nation was baptized under the waters of the Red Sea. They were
symbolically covered by the Crimson Blood of Christ in both the Passover of the
Angel of Death, and the Pass-under the crimson Sea with the Angel of Life. But
there were yet many who were not all clean as was not Judas. We must come
before the Lord in humility and repentance to receive Him wholly. Have you
done?
