When Pharaoh came near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and they were very afraid. The children of Israel cried out to Yahweh. They said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you treated us this way, to bring us out of Egypt? Isn’t this the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will work for you today; for you will never again see the Egyptians whom you have seen today. Yahweh will fight for you, and you shall be still.”
Yahweh said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward. Lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. Then the children of Israel shall go into the middle of the sea on dry ground. Behold, I myself will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will go in after them. I will get myself honor over Pharaoh, and over all his armies, over his chariots, and over his horsemen. The Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh when I have gotten myself honor over Pharaoh, over his chariots, and over his horsemen.” The angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them, and stood behind them. It came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. There was the cloud and the darkness, yet gave it light by night. One didn’t come near the other all night.
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. The children of Israel went into the middle of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the middle of the sea: all of Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. In the morning watch, Yahweh looked out on the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and of cloud, and confused the Egyptian army. He took off their chariot wheels, and they drove them heavily; so that the Egyptians said, “Let’s flee from the face of Israel, for Yahweh fights for them against the Egyptians!”
Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come again on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it. Yahweh overthrew the Egyptians in the middle of the sea. The waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even all Pharaoh’s army that went in after them into the sea. There remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked on dry land in the middle of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus Yahweh saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 24, 25, 27 They which a little before in their deliverance rejoiced,…
They which a little before in their deliverance rejoiced, being now in danger, are afraid and …
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 Exo 14:10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children…
Exo 14:10 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.
Ver. 10. And they were sore afraid.] Because sorely distressed. They saw no way to escape, unless they could have gone up to heaven: which because they could not, heaven came down to them, though unworthy, that God might get him a name. {Isa 63:12; Isa 63:14} The Israelites herein were far more happy than those ancient Britons, who, being greatly distressed by their northern enemies in the time of Valentinian III, implored the aid of Aetius, the Roman prefect of Gaul, using these words: "To Aetius, thrice consul, the sighs of the Britons": and after thus they complain, "The barbarous enemy beats us to the sea; the sea beats us back to the enemy: between these two kinds of deaths, we are either murdered or drowned." {a} But their implorations prevailed not. Neither found they any other remedy than what the Prince of Orange showed to his soldiers at the battle of Newport; when they had the sea on one side and the Spaniards on the other. If, saith he, you will live, you must either eat up these Spaniards, or drink up this sea. {b}
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{a} Daniel’s Chronicle.
{b} Hist. of Netherl.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30 Which is not strange; these being now a people…
Which is not strange; these being now a people of low spirits, depressed by long and grievous servitude; being also generally unarmed, wearied with their journey, and their fears aggravated by the presence and outcries of their wives and children. But they should have supported themselves by the consideration of the mighty power of God, of which they had late and great experience. They cried out, partly by petition, and partly by complaint and expostulation. Which is not strange; these being now a people of low spirits, depressed by long and grievous servitude; being also generally unarmed, wearied with their journey, and their fears aggravated by the presence and outcries of their wives and children. But they should have supported themselves by the consideration of the mighty power of God, of which they had late and great experience. They
cried out, partly by petition, and partly by complaint and expostulation.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv10, 15, 21 We have here, I. The fright that the children…
We have here, I. The fright that the children of Israel were in when they perceived that Pharaoh pursued them, Exo 14:10. They knew very well the strength and rage of the enemy, and their own weakness; numerous indeed they were, but all on foot, unarmed, undisciplined, disquieted by long servitude, and (which was worst of all) now penned up by the situation of their camp, so that they could not make their escape. On the one hand was Pi-hahiroth, a range of craggy rocks impassable; on the other hand were Migdol and Baalzephon, which, some think were forts and garrisons upon the frontiers of Egypt; before them was the sea; behind them were the Egyptians: so that there was no way open for them but upwards, and thence their deliverance came. Note, We may be in the way of our duty, following God and hastening towards heaven, and yet may be in great straits, troubled on every side, Co2 4:8. In this distress, no marvel that the children of Israel were sorely afraid; their father Jacob was so in a like case (Gen 32:7); when without are fightings, it cannot be otherwise but that within are fears: what therefore was the fruit of this fear? According as that was, the fear was good or evil. 1. Some of them cried out unto the Lord; their fear set them a praying, and that was a good effect of it. God brings us into straits that he may bring us to our knees. 2. Others of them cried out against Moses; their fear set them a murmuring, Exo 14:11, Exo 14:12. They give up themselves for lost; and as if God's arm were shortened all of a sudden, and he were not as able to work miracles today as he was yesterday, they despair of deliverance, and can count upon nothing but dying in the wilderness. How inexcusable was their distrust! Did they not see themselves under the guidance and protection of a pillar from heaven? And can almighty power fail them, or infinite goodness be false to them? Yet this was not the worst; they quarrel with Moses for bringing them out of Egypt, and, in quarrelling with him, fly in the face of God himself, and provoke him to wrath whose favour was now the only succour they had to flee to. As the Egyptians were angry with themselves for the best deed they ever did, so the Israelites were angry with God for the greatest kindness that was ever done them; so gross are the absurdities of unbelief. They here express, (1.) A sordid contempt of liberty, preferring servitude before it, only because it was attended with some difficulties. A generous spirit would have said, "If the worst come to the worst," as we say, "It is better to die in the field of honour than to live in the chains of slavery;" nay, under God's conduct, they could not miscarry, and therefore they might say, "Better live God's freemen in the open air of a wilderness than the Egyptians' bondmen in the smoke of the brick-kilns." But because, for the present, they are a little embarrassed, they are angry that they were not left buried alive in their house of bondage. (2.) Base ingratitude to Moses, who had been the faithful instrument of their deliverance. They condemn him, as if he had dealt hardly and unkindly with them, whereas it was evident, beyond dispute, that whatever he did, and however it issued, it was by direction from their God, and with design for their good. What they had said in a former ferment (when they hearkened not to Moses for anguish of spirit), they repeat and justify in this: We said in Egypt, Let us alone; and it was ill-said, yet more excusable, because then they had not had so much experience as they had now of God's wonderful appearances in their favour. But they had as soon forgotten the miracles of mercy as the Egyptians had forgotten the miracles of wrath; and they, as well as the Egyptians, hardened their hearts, at last, to their own ruin; as Egypt after ten plagues, so Israel after ten provocations, of which this was the first (Num 14:22), were sentenced to die in the wilderness.
II. The seasonable encouragement that Moses gave them in this distress, Exo 14:13, Exo 14:14. He answered not these fools according to their folly. God bore with the provocation they gave to him, and did not (as he might justly have done) chose their delusions, and bring their fears upon them; and therefore Moses might well afford to pass by the affront they put upon him. Instead of chiding them, he comforts them, and with an admirable presence and composure of mind, not disheartened either by the threatenings of Egypt or the tremblings of Israel, stills their murmuring, with the assurance of a speedy and complete deliverance: Fear you not. Note, It is our duty and interest, when we cannot get out of our troubles, yet to get above our fears, so that they may only serve to quicken our prayers and endeavours, but may not prevail to silence our faith and hope. 1. He assures them that God would deliver them, that he would undertake their deliverance, and that he would effect it in the utter ruin of their pursuers: The Lord shall fight for you. This Moses was confident of himself, and would have them to be so, though as yet he knew not how or which way it would be brought to pass. God had assured him that Pharaoh and his host should be ruined, and he comforts them with the same comforts wherewith he had been comforted. 2. He directs them to leave it to God, in a silent expectation of the event: "Stand still, and think not to save yourselves either by fighting or flying; wait God's orders, and observe them; be not contriving what course to take, but follow your leader; wait God's appearances, and take notice of them, that you may see how foolish you are to distrust them. Compose yourselves, by an entire confidence in God, into a peaceful prospect of the great salvation God is now about to work for you. Hold your peace; you need not so much as give a shout against the enemy, as Jos 6:16. The work shall be done without any concurrence of yours." Note, (1.) If God himself bring his people into straits, he will himself discover a way to bring them out again. (2.) In times of great difficulty and great expectation, it is our wisdom to keep our spirits calm, quiet, and sedate; for then we are in the best frame both to do our own work and to consider the work of God. Your strength is to sit still (Isa 30:7), for the Egyptians shall help in vain, and threaten to hurt in vain.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv10–30 And when Pharaoh drew nigh,.... Or "caused to draw…
And when Pharaoh drew nigh,.... Or "caused to draw nigh" (t); that is, his army, brought it very near to the camp of the Israelites:
the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; in great numbers, with full speed, threatening them with utter destruction:
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and they were sore afraid; being an unarmed people, though numerous, and so unable to defend themselves against armed and disciplined troops; and besides, through their long time of slavery their spirits were broken, and were a mean, abject, dispirited people; and especially were so on the sight of the Egyptians, whom they had so many years looked upon and served as their lords and masters:
and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord: had they prayed unto him in this their distress for help and assistance, protection and preservation, with an holy and humble confidence in him for it, they had acted a right and laudable part; but their crying out to him seems to be only an outcry of the troubles they were in, and rather the effect of despair than of faith and hope; and was by way of complaint and lamentation of their miserable condition and circumstances, as appears by what follows, which shows what temper of mind they were in.
(t) "fecit accedere", Pagninus, Montanus; "admovit castra", Junius & Tremellius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv10, 13, 15, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30 They were sore afraid - They knew the strength…
They were sore afraid - They knew the strength of the enemy, and their own weakness; numerous indeed they were, but all foot, unarmed, undisciplined, dispirited, by long servitude, and now pent up, so that they could not escape. On one hand was Pi- hahiroth, a range of craggy rocks unpassable; on the other hand were Migdol and Baal-zephon, forts upon the frontiers of Egypt; before them was the sea, behind them were the Egyptians; so that there was no way open for them but upwards, and thence their deliverance came.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 28, 30 Verse 10. The children of Israel cried out unto…
Verse 10. The children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.] Had their prayer been accompanied with faith, we should not have found them in the next verses murmuring against Moses, or rather against the Lord, through whose goodness they were now brought from under that bondage from which they had often cried for deliverance. Calmet thinks that the most pious and judicious cried unto God, while the unthinking and irreligious murmured against Moses.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv13, 15, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30 Exo 14:13-14. Moses said, Fear ye not, stand still…
Exo 14:13-14. Moses said, Fear ye not, stand still — Hebrew, make yourselves to stand. Let not your hearts fail, or sink, or stagger, through unbelief: but with quiet minds look up to God. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace — Ye shall contribute nothing to the victory, neither by your words nor by your deeds. A remarkable instance this of the composure of Moses’s mind, and the sedateness of his temper, and how well he deserved the character given him Num 12:3, of being one of the meekest of men. He did not answer these fools according to their folly: he does not chide, but comforts them; and with an admirable presence of mind, not in the least disconcerted or disheartened, either by the approach of Pharaoh, or the tremblings of Israel, he stills their murmurings, calmly exhorting them to take heart and trust in God. It is our duty when we cannot get out of our troubles, yet to get above our fears, so that they may only serve to quicken our prayers and endeavours, but may not prevail to silence our faith and hope.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 13, 15, 19, 21, 22, 24, 26, 27, 28 No graves in Egypt - This bitter taunt was…
No graves in Egypt - This bitter taunt was probably suggested by the vast extent of cemeteries in Egypt, which might not improperly be called the land of tombs.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25 Wilderness. This is the language of dastardly souls. They…
Wilderness. This is the language of dastardly souls. They had begun to be almost in love with their chains. Every difficulty gives them occasion to repine at the gracious purposes of God, and the exertions of his servant Moses. But God bears patiently with the defects of a carnal and long-oppressed nation, ver. 13. (Haydock)--- The wiser sort pray to God, while others thus upbraid Moses.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv10, 13, 15, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 30 when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted…
when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes--The great consternation of the Israelites is somewhat astonishing, considering their vast superiority in numbers, but their deep dismay and absolute despair at the sight of this armed host receives a satisfactory explanation from the fact that the civilized state of Egyptian society required the absence of all arms, except when they were on service. If the Israelites were entirely unarmed at their departure, they could not think of making any resistance [WILKINSON and HENGSTENBERG].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv10, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 24, 25, 27, 30 10-12. Cried out unto the Lord — In terror,…
10-12. Cried out unto the Lord — In terror, but not in faith. Because there were no graves in Egypt — No graves at all; words that had a special pathos in the mouths of a people who had been bred in a land renowned for the vastness and grandeur of its sepulchres. The royal cemetery of Memphis stretched more than sixty miles along the Nile, and among its monuments now stands the loftiest and most massive work that man’s hand ever reared. The Theban tombs are magnificent palaces of the dead. To lie unburied after death was deemed in Egypt to be one of the greatest of calamities, and the Israelites had doubtless an Egyptian horror of having their bodies scattered over the desert.
Better for us to serve the Egyptians — Cowardly despair. But it should be remembered they had been degraded by bondage, and the masters before whom they had cowered so long were full in sight with horses and chariots.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30 10. the Egyptians marched] Heb., more graphically, Egypt was…
10. the Egyptians marched] Heb., more graphically, Egypt was marching. Cf. on v. 25, and v. 30.
cried out, &c.] cf. Jos_24:7 (E).
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10–14. The sequel to vv. 5–7. The alarm of the Israelites, as they see the Egyptians approaching, and their encouragement by Moses, ‘told very graphically by J’ (Di.).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 30 (10) The children of Israel . . . were…
(10) The children of Israel . . . were sore afraid.—It has been objected that 600,000 men above twenty years of age had no need to be afraid of such an army as the Pharaoh could have hastily gathered. The entire armed force of Egypt is reckoned by Herodotus (2:166-168) at 410,000, and it is tolerably clear that not one-half of these could have been mustered. It would imply, indeed, more facility of mobilisation than we should have expected in this early age, if Pharaoh was able to bring 100,000 men into the field upon a sudden emergency. Why, then, it is asked, should the Israelites have been “sore afraid” of a force but one-sixth of their number? Were they “arrant cowards?” The answer is that the Egyptian army, whatever its number, was composed of trained soldiers, well-armed and used to war; the 600,000 Israelites were, in the main, unarmed, ignorant of warfare, and trained very imperfectly. Above a million Persian soldiers were defeated and slaughtered like sheep by 47,000 Graeco-Macedonians at Arbela. A similar result would, humanly speaking, have followed on a conflict between the Israelites and the Egyptians at Pi-hahiroth. The fear of the former was therefore perfectly legitimate.
The children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.—If Israel had been unduly timid—which we have shown not to have been the case—at any rate they knew where to make their appeal for succour. There is no help like that of Jehovah.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30 Vers. 10-14. THE TERROR OF ISRAEL AND THE COURAGE…
Vers. 10-14. THE TERROR OF ISRAEL AND THE COURAGE OF MOSES. It has been argued that the Israelites, if they were so numerous as stated, (Exo_12:37) must have been wretched cowards, if they were afraid to risk an engagement with such an army as that hastily levied one which Pharaoh had brought with him. But the difference between an army of trained soldiers, thoroughly equipped for war, with helmets, shields, breastplates, swords and spears, and an undisciplined multitude, unarmed for the most part, and wholly unaccustomed to warfare, is such, that the latter, whatever its numbers, may be excused if it does not feel able to cope with the former, and declines an engagement. Numbers, without military training and discipline, are of no avail nay, are even a disadvantage, since the men impede one another. It is not necessary to suppose that the Israelites were debased in character by their long servitude to account for their panic on seeing the army of Pharaoh. They had good grounds for their fear. Humanly speaking, resistance would simply have led to their indiscriminate massacre. The alarm of the Hebrews, and even the reproaches with which they assail Moses, are thus quite natural under the circumstances. What is surprising is, the noble courage and confidence of Moses. Moses, though only vaguely informed, that God would be honoured upon Pharaoh and all his host" (ver. 4), is perfectly certain that all will go well how the result will be achieved, he knows not; but he is sure that Israel will be delivered and Egypt discomfited; his people have no reason to fear they have but to stand still and see the salvation of God" (ver. 13); the Lord will fight for them; " they will have simply to hold their peace" (ver. 14). They were sore afraid. Before the Israelites are taxed with cowardice, let it be considered
1. That they were unarmed. Egypt was so settled a government thatcivilians generally went unarmed; and slaves, like the Hebrews, would scarcely have been allowed to possess any arms, if the case had been otherwise.
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2. They had no military training. Whatever had been done to teach themorder and arrangement in connection with their proposed journey, we may be sure there had been no drill or training in the use of arms, since this would have been regarded by the Egyptians as open rebellion.
3. They were quite unaccustomed to warfare. The Pharaohs main-rainedlarge garrisons of Egyptian and mercenary troops in the frontier provinces, to resist the invasions to which they were liable. The Hebrews may have had occasionally to defend themselves against a hasty raid: but in real war they had stood aloof, and left the fighting to the regular Egyptian army. The children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. The appeal to Jehovah showed that, with all their weaknesses and imperfections, the Israelites were yet true at heart. They knew where alone help was to be obtained, and made their appeal accordingly. No cry is more sure of an answer than the despairing oneLord, save us; we perish.
Vers. 10-14. Divine trial a touchstone to distinguish faith from unfaithfulness.
The Israelites had almost as much ground as Moses to believe in God, and trust his providential care of them. They had seen the whole series of miracles which Moses had wrought. They had found themselves exempt from visitations which fell with the utmost severity on their near neighbours. They had heard from Moses God"s positive promise to bring them into Canaan. (Exo_13:5, Exo_13:11) Yet at the first appearance of danger they lost all heart, all hope. They turned upon Moses with reproaches, taxed him with having brought them out of Egypt against their will, and expressed a readiness to return, and resume their old service. Moses, on the other hand, remained firm did not blench though, like the people, he felt the need of crying to God for aid (ver. 15), yet he did so in a different spirit from them he with faith, they, in panic terror, without it; he, sure that God would somehow grant salvation, they expecting nothing less than almost immediate death. Thus the same trial which shows forth one man"s faith and trust and confidence in God, reveals other men"s want of faith. While things went smoothly, there was no apparent difference an unprejudiced observer might have thought the people just as trustful as their leader but it was not so; and God willed that the difference should be made apparent. God will have faith distinguished from unfaithfulness, and each recognised as what it really is.
I FOR THE HONOUR OF HAS TRUE AND FAITHFUL SERVANTS, which he wills to have set forth in the eyes of men, out of the tender love he bears towards his people. Though they be at the best unprofitable servants," he deigns to recognise merit in their service, and wishes them to be honoured and held in respect by others, assigning them this as a part of their reward.
II FOR THE WARNING OF THE UNFAITHFUL ONES, who, unless a severe trial came, might remain self-deceived, imagining themselves to have true faith, though wholly lacking it.
III FOR THE MERE RIGHTS SAKE. Because he is a God of justice and of truth, abhorrent of pretence, semblance, make-believe; and always on the side of sincerity and openness. There is nothing secret," he tells us, that shall not be made manifest, nor hid that shall not be known". (Luk_8:17) And this revelation of the true character of men and actions, which his truthfulness makes an ultimate necessity, his providence works for here. His trials are touchstones, potent to detect shams, and to prove the faithfulness of the faithful
HOMILIES BY J. ORR Vers. 10-23. The deliverance.
Consider on this section:
I THE CRITICAL SITUATION OF THE ISRAELITES.
1. Their position. Encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal Zephon" (ver. 9). The first view of the sea would probably be attractive to them. Its breeze, after the tedious travel of the desert, would be deliciously refreshing. They would look with a childs wonder and delight on the novel spectacle it presented. They would crowd to the beach to watch its dancing, white-tipped waves, and curiously to listen to its soft, lapping ripple on the shore. Yet this sea, which is to-day their joy and plaything, will have become by the morrow their terror and despair their impregnable prison barrier. The experience is not uncommon. How often does it happen that the very things which at first we are disposed to hail with delight, to welcome and rejoice in, prove afterwards our greatest causes of sorrow! The engagements we enter into, the friendships we form, the bargains we make, the society we are introduced to, etc.
1. The approach of the enemy. The children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold the Egyptians marched after them" (ver. 10). The mountains are around, the sea is in front, and now terrible situation! the Egyptians are pursuing, and close at hand. On they come, in whirling chariots, in ranks upon ranks of footmen; the long lines are seen defiling in the distance, and Israel knows that in an hour or two more the avalanche will be upon them, sweeping all before it, burying them in destruction.
2. They were entirely unprepared. They had been resting and unbending, not preparing for battle. The attack took them by surprise. There was no possibility under the circumstances of presenting an effectual resistance to the enemy. But, indeed, had the circumstances been ever so favourable, these hordes of slaves, accustomed so long to crouch before the rod of the taskmaster, would scarcely have attempted it. How critical, how perilous, therefore, the entire situation! A picture this of those straits of life formerly referred to, in which having done our utmost, we can do no more, and no alternative remains but prayer, and quiet waiting upon God.
II THEIR PANIC AND DESPAIR (vers. 10-13). The appearance of the Egyptians naturally threw the Israelites into a state of the most acute terror. Remark:
1. Great allowance must be made for them. We do not read that, on this occasion, God dealt severely with them for the wild, ungrateful words they uttered. He made allowance.
(1) Their situation was really very serious. Placed in like circumstances, we would perhaps not have shown much more faith than they did.
(2) They were unused to the life of freedom. It takes time to teach those who have always been slaves to appreciate the blessings of the opposite condition. They carry their slave habits with them into the state of freedom. The Israelites had not as yet had much comfort in their emancipation. Their painful marches had probably been harder work than even the brick-making of Egypt. They could not as yet feel that it was better to be free, though enduring hardships in their freedom, than to be more comfortably situated and be slaves; Do we blame them? Then reflect how even Christians sometimes murmur and rebel at the self-denials, the sacrifices, the inconveniences, the persecutions, which their Christian freedom entails upon them. You complain, perhaps, that you have a harder time of it now, than even when you served the flesh. It may be true. But do not forget that the difference between your condition now and then, is all the difference between slavery and bondage, between salvation and a state of wrath.
2. Israel"s behaviour was nevertheless very unworthy.
(1) It was faithless. They did not wait to ask or see what God, who had already done so much for them, was about to do now, but at once concluded that he would leave them to perish. It is, indeed, said that they cried unto the Lord" (ver. 10), but then, in the next breath, we read of them reproaching his servant and delegate (ver. 11). They are faithless prayers that come from faithless hearts.
(2) It was ungrateful. How willing they had been to be led out of Egypt! yet now, at the first approach of danger, they turn on their leader, and taunt him for having given them their liberty. Was Moses to blame for the pursuit of Pharaoh? Or did he deserve to be thus requited for the noble stand he had taken on their behalf? Public servants have often much to endure from the fickle humour of the crowd.
(3) it was cowardly. It showed a servile and ignoble spirit even to breathe so base a regret as that they had not been suffered to continue in Egypt.
3. The contrast of their conduct with that of Moses. The bearing of Moses at this crisis was sublime in its calmness and trust. He does not return railing for railing. No angry word escapes his lips in reply to the reproaches of the people. They murmur; he betakes himself to prayer (ver. 15). They look to the visible chariots; he to the invisible power which is mightier than all. They seem bereft of reason, fearing immediate death; he is calm, undaunted, self-collected, and gives them the best of counsel. Ponder his wordsFear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today" (ver. 13).
(1) The situation was one in which God alone could bring salvation. They could do nothing for themselves. The salvation must be Gods from first to last.
(2) God would bring them this salvation. The fact that he had brought them into this strait was of itself a pledge that be would find them a way out of it. The believer, who finds himself in situations of difficulty, may cherish the same confidence.
(3) Their duty was to stand still, and see this salvation. So long as means of help are put within our reach, it is our duty to use them. When no such means exist, or when all available means have been exhausted, and still the shadow overhangs us, what remains but to wait patiently on the help of the Most High? Stand still in trust, in prayer, in expectancy, in readiness to advance the instant the word is given. Stand still as opposed to weak murmurings, to passionate regrets, to foolish rebellion against circumstances you cannot alter, so shall you see the salvation of the Lord. " If nothing else will do, God will cleave a way for you through the waves, or better still, will enable you, like Peter, to walk on them. (Mat_14:29)
III GOD"S COMMAND TO MOSES (vers. 15-19).
1. The command came in answer to prayer. Wherefore criest thou unto me" (ver. 15). The words contain no reproach, but imply that prayer needed on the instant to be exchanged for action.
2. Moses was to speak to the people that they go forward. See below.
3. He was to stretch his rod over the sea, and divide the waters (ver. 16).The confidence of Moses, that God would show a way of salvation, was thus justified by the result. The light was not given as early as the people might have wished, but it was given in time. God also announces to Moses his purpose of destroying the Egyptians (vers. 17, 18).
IV THE ADVANCE THROUGH THE SEA. On this notice
1. The change in the position of the pillar of cloud and fire (vers. 19, 20). Moving to the rear, it stood between the Israelites and their pursuers, turning a bright side to the former, and a dark side to the latter. (See below.) By this seasonable change in its position, it
(1) Illuminated the passage for the Israelites. The light would stream on in front.
(2) Made the way dark and perilous for the pursuers.
(3) Hid the pursuers from the pursued, and vice versa. This, besides being an additional defence to the Israelites, saved them from the terror which the sight of their pursuers would naturally awaken. It is related of a party of the Waldenses, that escaping by night from their cruel persecutors, their path lay through the rugged and perilous defiles of the Alps. At length the day broke, and under the light of the rising sun, they turned to survey the track along which they had trod. By a unanimous and irresistible impulse, they fell on their knees to thank God for their marvellous preservation. Here, they had walked on the very verge of a tremendous precipice where a false step would have dashed them to atoms; there, they had skirted the banks of a mountain lake, whose black waters seem to indicate unfathomable depths, etc. But the dangers amidst which they had moved had been veiled by the impenetrable darkness. There are some things which it is better for us not to see. Learn
(1) That God adapts his manifestations of himself to his peoples needs.
(2) That God"s presence with his Church is an effectual bulwark against attack. He can hide his people from their pursuers. He can darken the path of the latter; can confound their wisdom, divide their counsels, perplex them in their courses, and obstruct their progress by providential obstacles.
(3) Spiritually, in times of temptation and trial, we may rely on being illuminated by God"s truth, defended by God"s power, and ultimately conducted to a place of safety.
2. The division of the waters (ver. 21).
(1) It was accomplished by natural agencies, supernaturally directed. The Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night. " The recognition of natural agency in no wise detracts from the supernatural character of the transaction; nay, seeing that direct miracles are no longer to be looked for by the Church, it is even more helpful to faith to find that natural means were employed in this instance, than if the result had been wholly miraculous. It heightens our conceptions of what God can accomplish by means of the agencies of nature. Instance the defeat of the Spanish Armada
(2) It was unexpected and surprising. In considering the ways by which God might conceivably save them, the Israelites probably never dreamt of his opening a path through the sea. So, in those straits of life to which reference has been made, help usually arrives from unexpected quarters, in a way we had not thought of. God"s way is in the sea, and his path in the deep waters, and his footsteps are not known". (Psa_77:19)
(3) It afforded the passage that was required. The march through the sea, certainly, would not be without its difficulties. The violent gale, the thunderings and lightnings, (Psa_77:18) the darkness, the boom of the distant waters, the lurid light of the fiery cloud, the uneven passage, the panic and confusion, the strangeness and fearfulness of the entire situation, would make it an experience never to be forgotten. But if the road was difficult, it was practicable. They could pass by it. God promises to make a way for us. He does not promise that the way wilt always be an easy one.
3. The safe transit (ver. 22). The children of Israel got safely across. They were preserved in the very midst of the hostile element. Nay, the sea, which they had so much dreaded, became on either side a protecting wall to them. The same superintending Providence which secured, in the shipwreck of Paul, that so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to, (Act_27:44) doubtless brought about a like happy result in the case of the Israelites. Their deliverance became, in after days, the type of any great deliverance wrought by God for his saints. See the figure wrought out in Psa_18:4-20. J.O.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv11, 13, 15, 16, 19, 30 Hast thou taken us away to die in the…
Exo_14:11-12
Hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness?
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The foolish way in which many people anticipate difficulties
I. That many people meet anticipated difficulties in a spirit of great fear.
II. That many people meet anticipated difficulty in a spirit of complaint against those who have generously aided them in their enterprise. It is base to turn upon men who have spent their best energy and wisdom in our service when trouble seems to threaten, But this is the way of the world, a momentary cloud will eclipse a lifetime of heroic work.
III. That many people meet anticipated difficulties in a spirit which degrades previous events of a glorious character. Lessons:
1. That when trials threaten we should trust in God.
2. That fear weakens men in the hour of trial.
3. That it is ungenerous to murmur against those who earnestly seek our good. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
An unreasonable complaint
During one of the campaigns in the American Civil War, when the winter weather was very severe, some of Stonewall Jacksons men, having crawled out in the morning from their snow-laden blankets half frozen, began to curse him as the cause of their sufferings. He lay close by under a tree, also snowed up, and heard all this; but, without noticing it, presently crawled out too, and, shaking off the snow, made some jocular remark to the nearest men, who had no idea he had ridden up in the night and lain down amongst them! The incident ran through the army in a few hours, and reconciled his followers to all the hardships of the expedition, and fully re-established his popularity.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv15, 19, 23, 29 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_14:15-18
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_14:15-18
PROGRESS UNDER DIFFICULTY
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The children of Israel are now commanded, in their perplexing circumstances, to move forward into the waters of the Red Sea. A soul anxious to go forward will find paths where least expected and in the most unlikely places.
I. That in the perplexing circumstances of life, progress is often the highest wisdom, and gives the best solution of difficulty. “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.” When men have learnt to “stand still,” then they are prepared to “go forward.” Men must be patient before they can be truly active and energetic. God expects men to co-operate with His plan and purpose in reference to their deliverance from enemies; He will open a path in the waters, but they must walk in it. To move forward under difficulty is generally to find it vanish at every step. To stand still looking at the mountains is not the way to get beyond them. But progress at such a time must be guided by the providence of God, and not by the reason or inclination. Men must stand still till God tells them to go forward, then they will be defended by His power and led by His wisdom. God always gives men clear indications when they are to go forward; the cloud moves and must be followed through the great waters.
II. That in progress under difficulty there are times when action is more needful than prayer. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.” Thus it is evident that Moses had been praying unto the Lord, not in public but in the secret place of the heart. The good man can pray without removing; from the busy crowd. The prayer is not recorded—hence was, no doubt, offered silently. Certainly, it seemed an appropriate time for prayer on the part of the great Leader, as his position in reference to Israel became more critical every moment. It is sometimes difficult to know when to pray and when to act; certain it is that there are times in life when the former must be merged in the latter. Men require to go forward at the right time as well as pray at the right time; and success in any enterprise will depend upon the right combination of the two duties. It is folly to stand praying when surrounded by mountains, armies, and seas, without seeking to overcome our difficulties. Prayer without action will not remove physical disease, will not improve social position, will not give mental culture, and will not strengthen moral character. Men must go forward as well as pray. The energetic character will be more likely to neglect the latter, the meditative character will be more likely to neglect the former;—combine both. Progress under difficulty needs strenuous effort. At such times effort must be brave—must go into the waters; obedient—according to the word of God; constant—must not halt in the midst of the sea.
III. That in progress under difficulty there are times when the most trivial instrumentalities are useful, and are apparently associated with great results. “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.” Thus the rod of Moses was, in the providence of God, used as an instrument for the dividing of the Red Sea. We know right well that the rod did not in reality produce the result here recorded; that was done by the omnipotent arm of God, of which the lifting up of the little rod was but the symbol. It would be evident to all that a miracle was wrought. And so, in the progress of men, under difficult circumstances, God often makes use of little instrumentalities, to enhance their welfare, that the power of heaven may be visible in the events of earth,—that there may be an appeal to sense, and that the result may appear more sublime in contrast with the petty means with which it has been associated. Thus providence links small agencies with important issues. God can employ our smallest possessions for our welfare. Thus He dignifies them.
IV. That in progress under difficulty there are times when the wicked are obliged to recognise the supremacy of God. “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.” Thus the progress which the good make under difficult circumstances bears a relation to the wicked who are pursuing them. The progress of the good is the destruction of the wicked, the providence which secures the one also secures the other. In these issues men cannot but recognise the supremacy of God, they show that God can bring to naught the enmity of the wicked, that He can subdue the proud, and that He can make the weak to confound the mighty. God reveals Himself in the judgments as in the mercies of life. LESSONS:—
1. That difficulties are not to prevent progress.
2. That Heaven can enable men to overcome the greatest hindrances to progress.
3. That the progress of some may be the destruction of others.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo_14:15. Soul-Progress.
I. The soul should go forward because enemies are in pursuit. Pharaoh pursued the Israelites. The souls of the good are eagerly pursued by moral evil, and hence are under the necessity of ever keeping in advance of it. The good must never allow sin to overtake them in the journey of life. Progress is needful to moral safety.
II. The soul should go forward because glad experiences await it. The experiences of the soul increase in joy as progress is made in all that is good and pure. The good must go forward if they would sing the hymn of triumph on the other side of the river, when their enemies are destroyed. Onward there are grander visions of God to be obtained, there are richer fields of truth to be explored, and there are nobler things of character to be obtained. Then onward to Canaan.
III. The soul should go forward because God gives abundant grace to help it. God has made the soul capable of infinite moral progress; it cannot be satisfied with the present He gives grace to enable progress, food to sustain progress, hope to inspire progress, and Himself as the destiny of progress. Nothing in the universe stands still. Shall the soul of man be an exception?
Exo_14:16-18. It is God’s pleasure sometimes that His ministers should use signals for working miracles.
The sea shall be dry ground to the Church when God doth promise it.
Promises to the Church become threatenings to the wicked.
God is glorified in the destruction of persecuting enemies after their heart-hardening
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Forward! Exo_14:15. “To stand still when the voice of God’s Providence cries: ‘Go Forward,’ quenches the light of hope in the heart, and opens every avenue of the soul for the incoming of the powers of darkness.” Sometimes it does a man good to be brought into such a strait that he must choose one of two courses immediately and for ever. In the days of persecution, the threat of instant martyrdom has induced some to stand up for Jesus, when they might have lived and died without making the choice, had they supposed they could have a long and peaceful lifetime to choose in. Viewed from the under and imperfect human side, Israel’s crisis was a pitiable position, but from its Godward side none could have been more profitable. It was the making of Israel’s after life for God. Even so with young Christians; a great crucial trial is often their lifelong salvation. Old Humphrey has a good paper against wandering from the path of duty, suggested by a notice at the entrance of a park: “Take notice! In walking through these grounds, you are requested to keep the footpath.” Bower says that Bunyan has supplied the same theme for solemn warning, in the pilgrim’s straying into Bypath-meadow.
“Keep your right-hand path with care,
Though crags obstruct, and brambles tear;
You just discern a narrow track—
Enter there, and turn not back.”
—Barbauld.
Red Sea Obedience! Exo_14:15. Quaint but truthful was the sentiment of a negro preacher, whilst discoursing on the duty of implicit obedience: “If the Lord tells me in His Book that I am to jump through a stone wall, I will do it; for jumping at it belongs to me—going through it belongs to God.” Moses receives a command to cross the Rea Sea: his duty was obedience—God’s promise was deliverance. So felt the noble Swiss champion Zwingle. To go forward appeared terrible, but God required obedience. He stood on the edge of the Red Sea—the very point to which the guiding-pillar of Providence brought him; and, like the pursuing Egyptians, the Romish myrmidons closed upon him, ramping and ravening for his death. But just as they were about to clutch their prey the sea sundered, the host was troubled, and as the waters stood up on either side, the fervent, high-souled Switzer passed through into Gospel Freedom.
“Let not my peace be broken when the wrong
Conquers the right; but let me still wait on;
The day of right is coming, late, but long.”
Confidence! Exo_14:15. Mariners speak of a “frigate bird”—to be seen in all climes, yet never to be observed near the earth. This bird of heaven floats grandly on; so that while men in the far north see him at midnight floating amid the northern coruscations, men in the tropics observe him at hottest noon, sheening his plumage all a glow, with the out-flashing sunbeams, while they shelter from the burning heat beneath the cool verandah-shade. Such should be the Christian’s hope—no diversity of atmosphere should affect its life and vigour. Far above storms and tempests, whether ice or heat prevail, it should soar serenely on, until God swallows it up in Love. As Samuel Rutherfurd puts it: “Faint not, for the miles to heaven are but few and short.”
“Thou must not stop—thou must not stay—
God speed thee, pilgrim, on thy way.”
Go Forward! Exo_14:15. This is the watchword of progress for the world. Obedience to it is the salvation of the soul. It makes all the difference between success and failure—life and death—redemption and perdition. It is the vigorous pilgrim that climbs the dangerous steep—that bridges the mighty stream—that opens fountains in the desert—that makes the wilderness blossom as the rose. Obedience discovers and tames the most terrible forces in nature; and puts them into iron-harness to work for man. Obedience is the might hand that lifts the cloud of ignorance from the human mind—the majestic presence that scares away the horrid spectres of fear and superstition—the mysterious power that stretches the iron nerve for the electric thrill of thought to pass with lightning speed over the mountains and seas. Go Forward—
“To see avenging wrath in heaven above—
A gathering tempest—clouds of blighting woe—
Teeming destruction on the vanquish’d foe.”
—Mark.
Rescue! Exo_14:16-18. A boy found himself in a field, pursued by an infuriate bull. Conscious that his only chance of escape was to hasten to the gate, he turned and fled. Nearer the animal came, until he fancied that he could feel its hot breath. In a moment he realised that there would be no chance to open the gate in time to escape the angry animal’s rage. On the point of yielding himself up as lost, he was surprised to see the gate suddenly open. Gathering fresh energy, he sprang forward, and sped through the open way. Quickly the gate closed, and just as the strong bar fell in its place, the mad beast’s head crashed against the wood-work. What an escape! A friend had seen his danger—had hurried along the road—and had reached the gate just in time to open it, and save the youth. God’s Great Hand (see Exo_14:31) divided the mighty waters—opened the gateway for Israel’s fugitive legions, who passed along as through towering walls of crystal. The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee; they were afraid; the depths also were troubled. They moved aside to Israel’s host, who trusted in God to deliver them.
“And such the trust that still were mine,
Though stormy winds swept o’er the brine,
And though the tempest’s fiery breath
Roused me from sleep to wreck and death.”
—Willard.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v19 Exo 14:19 - - Exo 14:31.
Exodus
A PATH IN THE SEA
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Exo 14:19 - - Exo 14:31.
This passage begins at the point where the fierce charge of the Egyptian chariots and cavalry on the straggling masses of the fugitives is inexplicably arrested. The weary day’s march, which must have seemed as suicidal to the Israelites as it did to their pursuers, had ended in bringing them into a position where, as Luther puts it, they were like a mouse in a trap or a partridge in a snare. The desert, the sea, the enemy, were their alternatives. And, as they camped, they saw in the distance the rapid advance of the dreaded force of chariots, probably the vanguard of an army. No wonder that they lost heart. Moses alone keeps his head and his faith. He is rewarded with the fuller promise of deliverance, and receives the power accompanying the command, to stretch forth his hand, and part the sea. Then begins the marvellous series of incidents here recorded.
I. The first step in the leisurely march of the divine deliverance is the provision for checking the Egyptian advance and securing the safe breaking up of the Israelitish camp. The pursuers had been coming whirling along at full speed, and would soon have been amongst the disorderly mass, dealing destruction. There was no possibility of getting the crossing effected unless they were held at bay. When an army has to ford a river in the face of hostile forces, the hazardous operation is possible only if a strong rearguard is left on the enemy’s side, to cover the passage. This is exactly what is done here. The pillar of fire and cloud, the symbol of the divine presence, passed from the van to the rear. Its guidance was not needed, when but one path through the sea was possible. Its defence was needed when the foe was pressing eagerly on the heels of the host. His people’s needs determined then, as they ever do, the form of the divine presence and help. Long after, the prophet seized the great lesson of this event, when he broke into the triumphant anticipation of a yet future deliverance,-which should repeat in fresh experience the ancient victory, ‘The Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rearward,’ In the place where the need is sorest, and in the form most required, there and that will God ever be to those who trust Him.
We can see here, too, a frequent characteristic of the miraculous element in Scripture, namely, its reaching its end not by a leap, but by a process. Once admit miracle, and it appears as if adaptation of means to ends was unnecessary. It would have been as easy to have transported the Israelites bodily and instantaneously to the other side of the sea, as to have taken these precautions and then cleft the ocean, and made them march through it. Legendary miracle would have preferred the former way. The Bible miracle usually adapts methods to aims, and is content to travel to its goal step by step.
Nor can we omit to notice the double effect of the one manifestation of the divine presence. The same pillar was light and darkness. The side which was cloud was turned to the pursuers; that which was light, to Israel. The former were paralysed, and hindered from advancing a step, or from seeing what the latter were doing; these, on the other hand, had light thrown on their strange path, and were encouraged and helped to plunge into the mysterious road, by the ruddy gleam which disclosed it. So every revelation is either light or darkness to men, according to the use they make of it. The ark, which slew Philistines, and flung Dagon prone on his own threshold, brought blessing to the house of Obededom. The Child who was to be ‘set for the fall,’ was also for ‘the rising of many.’ The stone laid in Zion is ‘a sure foundation,’ and ‘a stone of stumbling.’ The Gospel is the savour of life unto life, or of death unto death. The same fire melts wax and hardens clay. The same Christ is salvation and destruction. God is to each of us either our joy or our dread.
II. The sudden march of the Egyptians having thus been arrested, there is leisure, behind the shelter of the fiery barrier, to take the next step in the deliverance. The sea is not divided in a moment. Again, we have a process to note, and that brought about by two things,-Moses’ outstretched rod, and the strong wind which blew all night. The chronology of that fateful night is difficult to adjust from our narrative. It would appear, from Exo 14:20, that the Egyptians were barred advancing until morning; and, from Exo 14:21, that the wind which ploughed with its strong ploughshare a furrow through the sea, took all night for its work. But, on the other hand, the Israelites must have been well across, and the Egyptians in the very midst of the passage, ‘in the morning watch,’ and all was over soon after ‘the morning appeared.’ Probably the wind continued all the night, so as to keep up the pressure which dammed back the waters, but the path was passable some hours before the gale abated. It must have been a broad way to admit of some two million frightened people with wives and children effecting a crossing in the short hours of part of one night.
But though God used the wind as His besom to sweep a road clear for His people, the effect produced by ordinary means was extraordinary. No wind that ever blew would blow water in two opposite directions at once, as a man might shovel snow to right and left, and heap it in mounds by the sides of the path that he dug. That was what the text tells us was done. The miracle is none the less a miracle because God employed physical agents, just as Christ’s miracles were no less miraculous when He anointed blind eyes with moistened clay, or sent men to wash in Siloam, than when His bare word raised the dead or stilled the ocean. Wind or no wind, Moses’ rod or no rod, the true explanation of that broad path cleared through the sea is-’the waters saw Thee, O God.’ The use of natural means may have been an aid to feeble faith, encouraging it to step down on to the untrodden and slippery road. The employment of Moses and his rod was to attest his commission to act as God’s mouthpiece.
III. Then comes the safe passage. It is hard to imagine the scene. The vivid impression made by our story is all the more remarkable when we notice how wanting in detail it is. We do not know the time nor the place. We have no information about how the fugitives got across, the breadth of the path, or its length. Characteristically enough, Jewish legends know all about both, and assure us that the waters were parted into twelve ways, one for each tribe, and that the length of the road was three hundred miles! But Scripture, with characteristic reticence, is silent about all but the fact. That is enough. We gather, from the much later and poetical picture of it in Psa 1:1 - Psa 1:6, that the passage was accomplished in the midst of crashing thunder and flashing lightnings; though it may be doubted whether these are meant to be taken as real or ideal. At all events, we have to think of these two millions of people-women, children, and followers-plunging into the depths in the night.
What a scene! The awestruck crowds, the howling wind, perhaps the thunderstorm, the glow of the pillar glistening on the wet and slimy way, the full paschal moon shining on the heaped waters! How the awe and the hope must both have increased with each step deeper in the abyss, and nearer to safety! The Epistle to the Hebrews takes this as an instance of ‘faith’ on the part of the Israelites; and truly we can feel that it must have taken some trust in God’s protecting hand to venture on such a road, where, at any moment, the walls might collapse and drown them all. They were driven to venture by their fear of Pharaoh; but faith, as well as fear, wrought in them. Our faith, too, is often called upon to venture upon perilous paths. We may trust Him to hold back the watery walls from falling. The picture of the crossing carries eternal truth for us all. The way of safety does not open till we are hemmed in, and Pharaoh’s chariots are almost come up. It often leads into the very thick of what we deem perils. It often has to be ventured on in the dark, and with the wind in our faces. But if we tread it in faith, the fluid will be made solid, and the pathless passable, or any other apparent impossibility be realised, before our confidence shall be put to shame, or one real evil reach us.
IV. The next stage is the hot pursuit and the panic of the Egyptians. The narrative does not mark the point at which the pillar lifted and disclosed the escape of the prey. It must have been in the night. The baffled pursuers dash after them, either not seeing, or too excited and furious to heed where they were going. The rough sea bottom was no place for chariots, and they would be hopelessly distanced by the fugitives on foot. How long they stumbled and weltered we are not told, but ‘in the morning watch,’ that is, while it was yet dark, some awful movement in the fiery pillar awed even their anger into stillness, and drove home the conviction that they were fighting against God. There is something very terrible in the vagueness, if we may call it so, of that phrase ‘the Lord looked . . .through the pillar.’ It curdles the blood as no minuteness of narrative would do. And what a thought that His look should be a trouble! ‘The steady whole of the judge’s face’ is awful, and some creeping terror laid hold on that host of mad pursuers floundering in the dark, as that more than natural light flared on their path. The panic to which all bodies of soldiers in strange circumstances are exposed, was increased by the growing difficulty of advance, as the chariot wheels became clogged or the ground more of quicksand. At last it culminates in a shout of ‘Sauve qui peut!’ We may learn how close together lie daring rebellion against God and abject terror of Him; and how in a moment, a glance of His face, a turn of His hand, bring the wildest blasphemer to cower in fear. We may learn, too, to keep clear of courses which cannot be followed a moment longer, if once a thought that God sees us comes in. And we may learn the miserable result of all departure from Him, in making what ought to be our peace and blessing, our misery and terror, and turning the brightness of His face into a consuming fire.
V. Then comes, at last, the awful act of destruction, of which a man is the agent and an army the victim. We must suppose the Israelites all safe on the Arabian coast, when the level sunlight streams from the east on the wild hurry of the fleeing crowd making for the Egyptian shore. What a solemn sight that young morning looked on! The wind had dropped, the rod is stretched out, the sea returns to its strength; and after a few moments’ despairing struggle all is over, and the sun, as it climbs, looks down upon the unbroken stretch of quiet sea, bearing no trace of the awful work which it had done, or of the quenched hatred and fury which slept beneath.
We can understand the stern joy which throbs so vehemently in every pulse of that great song, the first blossom of Hebrew poetry, which the ransomed people sang that day. We can sympathise with the many echoes in psalm and prophecy, which repeated the lessons of faith and gratitude. But some will be ready to ask, Was that triumphant song anything more than narrow national feeling, and has Christianity not taught us another and tenderer thought of God than that which this lesson carries? We may ask in return, Was it divine providence that swept the Spanish Armada from the sea, fulfilling, as the medal struck to commemorate it bore, the very words of Moses’ song, ‘Thou didst blow with Thy wind, the sea covered them’? Was it God who overwhelmed Napoleon’s army in the Russian snows? Were these, and many like acts in the world’s history, causes for thankfulness to God? Is it not true that, as has been well said, ‘The history of the world is the judgment of the world’? And does Christianity forbid us to rejoice when some mighty and ancient system of wrong and oppression, with its tools and accomplices, is cleared from off the face of the earth? ‘When the wicked perish, there is shouting.’ Let us not forget that the love and gentleness of the Gospel are accompanied by the revelation of divine judgment and righteous retribution. This very incident has for its last echo in Scripture that wonderful scene in the Apocalypse, where, in the pause before the seven angels bearing the seven plagues go forth, the seer beholds a company of choristers, like those who on that morning stood on the Red Sea shore, standing on the bank of the ‘sea of glass mingled with fire,’-which symbolises the clear and crystalline depth of the stable divine judgments, shot with fiery retribution,-and lifting up by anticipation a song of thanksgiving for the judgments about to be wrought. That song is expressly called ‘the song of Moses’ and ‘of the Lamb,’ in token of the essential unity of the two dispensations, and especially of the harmony of both in their view of the divine judgments. Its ringing praises are modelled on the ancient lyric. It, too, triumphs in God’s judgments, regards them as means of making known His name, as done not for destruction, but that His character may be known and honoured by men, to whom it is life and peace to know and love Him for what He is.
That final victory over ‘the beast,’ whether he be a person or a tendency, is to reproduce in higher fashion that old conquest by the Red Sea. There is hope for the world that its oppressors shall not always tyrannise; there is hope for each soul that, if we take Christ for our deliverer and our guide, He will break the chains from off our wrists, and bring us at last to the eternal shore, where we may stand, like the ransomed people, and, as the unsetting morning dawns, see its beams touching with golden light the calm ocean, beneath which our oppressors lie buried for ever, and lift up glad thanksgivings to Him who has ‘led us through fire and through water, and brought us out into a wealthy place.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv19, 30 (See Scofield "Heb 1:4").
angel
(See Scofield "Heb 1:4").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv10, 19 The Great Fear of the Israelites
The Great Fear of the Israelites
v. 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. As the attention of the Israelites was drawn to the pursuing host, they realized the desperate situation in which they found themselves: on the east of them, the sea; on the south, the mountains; on the northwest, the army of Pharaoh. Moreover, they lacked both the weapons and the courage for a successful stand against the armies of the tyrant. It was not a confident prayer which they sent up in this emergency, but a cry of terror.
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v. 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? This was a mixture of bitter irony and unreasoning terror; for Egypt was rich in great sepulchers and monuments. They also forgot that they had received the revelations of Moses with grateful hearts and had willingly followed his directions.
v. 12. Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? That had happened in only one case, Exo 5:21, whereas the Israelites had otherwise been eager to accept the advice of Moses. For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness. These were unjust reproaches and foreshadowed the subsequent behavior of the children of Israel in the wilderness.
v. 13. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salva tion of the Lord which He will show to you today; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today ye shall see them again no more forever. This heroic confidence of Moses stands out all the more splendidly by contrast with the cringing fear of the people, as the Lord had not revealed to him the form which His deliverance would take.
v. 14. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace, Moses knew that the deliverance which the Lord would bring about would be of a nature to make the Israelites hush all their laments; they would, in fact, stand by in idle astonishment while the Lord glorified Himself before them.
v. 15. And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto Me? Although Moses was outwardly silent, his heart was praying to the Lord with anxious cries. Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward; they were to march straight ahead.
v. 16. But lift thou up thy rod, the same shepherd’s staff that had figured so largely in Egypt, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it. He was not merely to cause an unusually low ebb-tide, together with a strong wind to hold the water back, but he was to separate, to cut apart, the waters of the sea, the purpose of the wind afterward being merely to assist in drying off the bottom of the sea. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
v. 17. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them, in blind obstinacy, And I will get Me honor upon Pharaoh and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. God’s judgment upon Pharaoh was to redound to the everlasting honor of His name.
v. 18. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I have gotten Me honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. Thus the Lord strengthens those that believe in Him in the hour of danger and tribulation by giving them the assurance that He Himself will battle for them and deliver them from all their enemies.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv10, 13, 15, 19, 21, 23, 26, 29 When Pharaoh came close
When Pharaoh came close
The word "Pharaoh" here represents the entire Egyptian army. AT: "When Pharaoh and his army came close" (See: Synecdoche)
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they were terrified
"the Israelites were terrified"
Is it because there were no graves in Egypt, that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?
The Israelites ask this question to express their frustration and fear of dying. This rhetorical question can be translated as a statement. AT: "There were plenty of graveyards in Egypt for us to be buried in. You did not have to take us into the wilderness to die!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
Why have you treated us like this, bringing us out of Egypt?
The Israelites ask this question to rebuke Moses for bringing them to the desert to die. This rhetorical question can be translated as a statement. AT: "You should not have treated us like this by bringing us out of Egypt!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
Is this not what we told you in Egypt?
The Israelites ask this question to emphasize that this is what they had told Moses. This rhetorical question can be translated as a statement. AT: "This is exactly what we told you while we were in Egypt." (See: Rhetorical Question)
We said to you, 'Leave us alone, so we can work for the Egyptians.'
This can be stated as an indirect quote. AT: "We told you to leave us alone, so we could work for the Egyptians." (See: Direct and Indirect Quotations)
translationWords
terror
cry
grave
die
desert
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv10, 13, 15, 17, 19, 22, 25 14:10-12 This complaint is the first occurrence of what…
14:10-12 This complaint is the first occurrence of what was to become a sad refrain over the next forty years. Instead of believing that the God who had demonstrated his power so overwhelmingly could now save them, the Israelites turned on their rescuer. The cry of the unsurrendered heart is always, “Give me the security of slavery rather than the risk of faith.”
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.