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.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 27 Which was about the three last hours of the…
Which was about the three last hours of the night.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv23, 24, 26, 27, 28 Exo 14:23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in…
Exo 14:23 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.
Ver. 23. And the Egyptians pursued.] God permitting it, and making fair weather before them, they also blustering, and "breathing out threatenings," saying, "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil," &c., till anon "they sank as lead in the mighty waters." {Exo 15:9-10}
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 vv24, 25, 27, 28 The night was anciently divided, not by hours, as…
The night was anciently divided, not by hours, as now it is, but by watches, which sometimes were accounted four, and sometimes but three; howsoever the last of them was called the morning watch. Then when they hoped for most advantage in the pursuit, they met with their greatest disaster.
The Lord; called the Angel of God, Exo 14:19. By which promiscuous use of these titles it sufficiently appears that this was no ordinary angel, but the Son of God.
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The Lord looked with an eye of indignation and vengeance, (as that phrase is used, Job 40:12 see also Amo 9:4), and troubled them with most terrible and prodigious winds, and rains, and lightnings, and both claps and bolts of thunder, as may be gathered from Exo 15:10; Psa 77:18,19; and, as some ancient historians relate, with terrors also in their minds, &c.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv23–28 And the Egyptians pursued,.... The Israelites going forwards towards…
And the Egyptians pursued,.... The Israelites going forwards towards the sea as they were ordered, and going into it:
and went in after them into the midst of the sea; which if fearful of, they might conclude it was as safe for them to go in as for the Israelites; but perhaps through the darkness of the night, and the eagerness of their pursuit, they might not perceive where they were, nor the danger they were exposed unto:
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even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen: which is observed to show, that as all that did go in perished, not one was saved, as after related, so all he brought with him, the whole of his army, went in, so that all that went out of Egypt were destroyed.
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 vv23, 24, 25, 26, 28 And the Egyptians went in after them into the…
And the Egyptians went in after them into the midst of the sea - They thought, why might they not venture where Israel did? They were more advantageously provided with chariots and horses, while the Israelites were on foot.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv24, 28 Verse 24. The morning watch] A watch was the…
Verse 24. The morning watch] A watch was the fourth part of the time from sun-setting to sun-rising; so called from soldiers keeping guard by night, who being changed four times during the night, the periods came to be called watches. - Dodd.
As here and in 1Sa 11:11 is mentioned the morning watch; so in La 2:19, the beginning of the watches; and in Jud 7:19, the middle watch is spoken of; in Lu 12:38, the second and third watch; and in Mt 14:25, the fourth watch of the night; which in Mr 13:35 are named evening, midnight, cock-crowing, and day-dawning. - Ainsworth.
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As the Israelites went out of Egypt at the vernal equinox, the morning watch, or, according to the Hebrew, באשמרת הבקר beashmoreth habboker, the watch of day-break, would answer to our four o'clock in the morning. - Calmet.
The Lord looked unto] This probably means that the cloud suddenly assumed a fiery appearance where it had been dark before; or they were appalled by violent thunders and lightning, which we are assured by the psalmist did actually take place, together with great inundations of rain, c.: The clouds POURED OUT WATER the skies sent out a SOUND: thine ARROWS also went abroad. The VOICE of thy THUNDER was in the heaven; the LIGHTNINGS LIGHTENED the world; the earth TREMBLED and SHOOK. Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters. Thou leddest thy people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron; Ps 77:17-20. Such tempests as these would necessarily terrify the Egyptian horses, and produce general confusion. By their dashing hither and thither the wheels must be destroyed, and the chariots broken; and foot and horse must be mingled together in one universal ruin; see Ex 14:25. During the time that this state of horror and confusion was at its summit the Israelites had safely passed over; and then Moses, at the command of God, (Ex 14:26), having stretched out his rod over the waters, the sea returned to its strength; (Ex 14:27); i.e., the waters by their natural gravity resumed their level, and the whole Egyptian host were completely overwhelmed, Ex 14:28. But as to the Israelites, the waters had been a wall unto them on the right hand and on the left, Ex 14:29. This the waters could not have been, unless they had been supernaturally supported; as their own gravity would necessarily have occasioned them to have kept their level, or, if raised beyond it, to have regained it if left to their natural law, to which they are ever subject, unless in cases of miraculous interference. Thus the enemies of the Lord perished; and that people who decreed that the male children of the Hebrews should be drowned, were themselves destroyed in the pit which they had destined for others. God's ways are all equal; and he renders to every man according to his works.
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 vv23–27 Exo 14:23. And the Egyptians went in after them…
Exo 14:23. And the Egyptians went in after them into the midst of the sea — They thought, Why might they not venture where Israel did? They were more advantageously provided with chariots and horses, while the Israelites were on foot.
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 vv24, 26, 27, 28 In the morning watch - At sunrise, a little…
In the morning watch - At sunrise, a little before 6 a.m.in April.
Troubled - By a sudden panic.
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 vv24–25 Watch. About four o’clock. The Hebrews divided the night…
Watch. About four o’clock. The Hebrews divided the night into three equal parts, (Calmet) or four, consisting each of three hours, (Menochius) which varied in length as the night was longer. (Haydock) --- Slew many by his thunderbolts, as Artapanus relates, and the Scripture elsewhere insinuates. (Chap. xv. 6, 12; Psalm lxxvi. 16, 18; Josephus, [Antiquities?] ii. 7.
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 vv23, 24, 27, 28 the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to…
the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea--From the darkness caused by the intercepting cloud, it is probable that they were not aware on what ground they were driving: they heard the sound of the fugitives before them, and they pushed on with the fury of the avengers of blood, without dreaming that they were on the bared bed of the sea.
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 vv24, 25, 27 24. In the morning watch — In New Testament…
24. In the morning watch — In New Testament times, the Jews divided the night into four watches, but in the Old Testament history mention is made of three only: the first, or “beginning of the watches,” from sunset to ten P.M., (Lam_2:19;) the “middle watch,” from ten P.M. to two A.M., (Jdg_7:10;) and the morning watch, from two A.M. to sunrise. It was, then, after two o’clock in the morning when the cloud, that had hung like a black curtain over and before the Egyptians, opened, and Jehovah “looked upon them” through his lightnings. Thus the Psalmist describes the scene. To appreciate its awfulness to the Egyptians we must remember that thunder and lightning are extremely rare in Egypt, and that the fearful grandeur of our thunderstorms is there wholly unknown. “The clouds streamed water, the skies lifted up their voice, yea, thine arrows (thunderbolts) flew. The voice of thy crash rolled round, (like a chariot in heaven;) lightnings illumined the world; trembled and shook the earth.” Psa_77:17-18.
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 vv24–26 24. the morning watch] The Hebrews divided the night…
24. the morning watch] The Hebrews divided the night into three ‘watches,’ each of about four hours, the ‘morning watch’ (also Exo 1Sa_11:11) would be from about 2 to 6 a.m.; the ‘middle watch’ is mentioned in Jdg_7:19. Cf. Luk_12:38. In the NT., however, the Roman division into four watches is also followed, Mat_14:25 = Mar_6:48; cf. Mar_13:35.
looked forth] Notice the graphic anthropomorphism. Perhaps the idea is, with fiery flashes, startling the Egyptians, and throwing them into a panic. The author of Psa_77:17-19 pictured torrents of rain, with brilliant lightnings and loud thunder (cf. Psa_81:7), as accompanying the passage of the Red Sea: Jos. Ant. ii. 16. 3 describes it similarly.
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host (twice)] Heb. camp, as v. 20. Not the word (ḥayil) rendered ‘host’ in vv. 4, 17, 28, and ‘army’ in v. 9.
discomfited] i.e. threw into panic or confusion: Exo_23:27, Deu_2:15; Deu_7:23, Jos_10:10 al.
24, 25. Premonitory warnings of the disaster about to fall upon the Egyptians.
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 vv23, 24, 26, 27, 28 (23) All Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.—The…
(23) All Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.—The chariot and cavalry force alone entered the sea, not the infantry. (Comp, Exo_14:28 and Exo_15:1.) The point is of importance as connected with the question whether the Pharaoh himself perished. If all his force entered, he could not well have stayed behind; if only a portion, he might have elected to remain with the others. Menephthah, the probable Pharaoh of the Exodus, was apt to consult his own safety. (Records of the Past, vol. iv., pp. 44-45.)
(23-28) The Egyptians pursued.—All the Israelites having entered the bed of the sea, the pillar of the cloud, it would seem, withdrew after them, and the Egyptians, who, if they could not see, could at any rate hear the sound of the departure, began to advance, following on the track of the fugitives. What they thought concerning the miracle, or what they expected, it is difficult to say. They can scarcely have entered on the bed of the sea without knowing it. Probably they assumed that, as the bed had somehow become dry, it would continue dry long enough for their chariots and horsemen to get across. The distance may not have been so much as a mile, which they may have expected to accomplish in ten minutes; but when once they were entered, their troubles began. “The Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar . . . and troubled the host of the Egyptians” (Exo_14:24). By some terrible manifestation of His presence and of His anger, proceeding from the pillar of the cloud in their front, God threw the Egyptian troops into consternation and confusion. A panic terror seized them. Some probably stopped, some fled; but there were others who persevered. Then followed a second difficulty. The progress of the chariots was obstructed. According to the present reading of the Hebrew text, the wheels parted from the axles, which would naturally bring the vehicles to a stand. According to the LXX. and a reading found in the Samaritan Pentateuch, the wheels “became entangled,” as they would if they sank up to the axles in the soft ooze. Hereby the advance was rendered slow and difficult: “they drave them heavily.” To the Egyptians the obstruction seemed more than could be accounted for by natural causes, and they became convinced that Jehovah was fighting for Israel and against them (Exo_14:25). Hereupon they turned and fled. But the flight was even harder than the advance. A confused mass of horses and chariots filled the channel—they impeded each other—could make no progress—could scarcely move. Then came the final catastrophe. At God’s command, Moses once more stretched his hand over the sea, and the waters returned on either side—a north-west wind brought back those of the Bitter Lakes (Exo_14:10), the flood tide those of the Bed Sea—and the whole of the force that had entered on the sea-bed in pursuit of the Israelites was destroyed.
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 vv23, 24, 25, 26, 28 Vers. 23-31. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE EGYPTIANS. As the…
Vers. 23-31. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE EGYPTIANS. As the rearguard of the Israelite host having entered the tract from which the waters had retired, proceeded along it, and left the western end of the isthmus vacant, the pillar of the cloud seems to have followed it up and withdrawn with it. The Egyptians immediately advanced. Notwithstanding the preternatural darkness, they had become aware, perhaps by means of their ears, of the movement that was taking place, and with early dawn they were under arms and pressing on the line of the Israelite retreat. They found the channel still dry, and hastily entering it with their chariot force, they hurried forward in pursuit. The first check which they received was wholly supernatural. 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" (ver. 24). Details here are wanting; but less cannot be meant, than that some strange phenomena connected with the retiring pillar" caused a panic and threw the ranks of the army into confusion. Then followed natural impediments. The Lord took off," or clogged" their chariot Wheels, and made them go heavilyi.e. , the chariot wheels, not by miracle, but by the operation of God"s natural laws, sank into the soft sand over which the Israelites had passed easily, having no wheeled vehicles, and the chariots were consequently dragged forward slowly and with difficulty. The double hindrance, from the confusion and the stoppage of the chariots, so discouraged the Egyptians, that after a time they resolved on beating a retreat (ver. 25). They had set out on their return, when Moses, at Gods instance, stretched forth his hand once mere over the sea, and the waters on both sides began at once to return. The Egyptians saw their danger, and fled against" the advancing tide, racing against it, as it were, and seeking to reach the shore. But in vain. The waves came on rapidly, and (in the language of ver. 28) there was not a man of all those who had entered the dry bed of the sea that was not overwhelmed and drowned in the waters. We should he wrong to press this language to the extreme letter. In graphic narrative the sacred writers uniformly employ universal expressions, where they mean to give the general fact or general result. The true meaning is, that the pursuit altogether failed. Not an Egyptian made his way alive across the strait. All that the Israelites ever saw afterwards of the army that they had so much dreaded (ver. 10) was a ghastly mass of corpses thrown up by the tide on the Asiatic shore (ver. 30).
All Pharaoh"s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. Here, as elsewhere, the word translated horsemen" probably means the men who rode in the chariots. Observe that the Pharaoh himself is not said to have gone in. Menephthah was apt to avoid placing himself in a position of danger (Records of the Past, vol. 4. pp. 44, 45). Nor is any of the infantry said to have entered the bed of the sea.
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Vers. 23-30. God"s dealings with the wicked and impenitent.
If the passage of Israel through the Red Sea shows conspicuously Gods protection of his people in the time of trouble, the overthrow of the Egyptians indicates, at least as conspicuously, his execution of wrath upon the wicked.
I First of all, IT IS NOTICEABLE HOW HIS EYE UPON THEIR HEARTS, LOOKING INTO THEM THROUGH THE CLOUD AND DARKNESS WHEREIN THEY ARE ENVELOPED, TROUBLES THEM. Bad men cannot bear God"s eye upon their hearts. It sees through all veils, penetrates all disguises, detects all subterfuges. The bad man is a riddle, even to himself, and would feign continue an enigma, impenetrable, mysterious. But the searching eye of God turned full upon him, so illuminates every dark corner and unexplored cranny of his nature, that all becomes only too patent and clear. All things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. " Under that steadfast gaze the mystery melts away, like a summer fog, and the bad man sees himself revealed, without disguise as a very ordinary and commonplace offender.
II IT IS WORTHY OF OBSERVATION THAT HE OFTEN CLOGS THEIR CHARIOT WHEELS, AND MAKES THEM TO GO HEAVILY. The enterprises which the wicked undertake are continually interfered with. God will not let them have the success which their framers anticipate, and which for their cleverness and ingenuity they may be said to deserve. He clogs the wheels" of their various designs, and makes them drag heavily. One miscarriage follows another. This enterprise will not advance at all; that, by dint of great exertion, moves but slowly. It is as though the chariot wheels sank into quicksands. It is not often that they wake up to the conviction that the Lord fighteth against the Egyptians; " though this may happen sometimes. Then perhaps they repent them of their vain attempt, and would feign retreat from it. But it is TOO LATE.
III IT IS MOST NOTICEABLE HOW AT LAST GOD"S JUDGMENTS COME IN WITH AN OVERWHELMING FLOOD, WHICH THERE IS NO ESCAPING. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. " Upon the ungodly God at the last rains down snares, fire and brimstone, storm and tempest this is their portion to drink. " Sudden destruction comes upon them unawares. " Now it is in financial ruin, now in utter failure of health, now in complete prostration of the spirit, and an intolerable sense of remorse and despair that the judgment descends blow follows blow, failure succeeds to failure, all the old refuges and supports prove unavailing angry floods pour in on every side there is no reaching the shore all is tossing surf, slippery rock, and entangling sea-weed not a hand is stretched out to save. So they go down to the pit the devouring waves swallow them up the waterfloods go up over their heads they disappear, and their place knows them no more. The wages of sin is death; and the end of sin is death. The ultimate end of impenitent sin is eternal death. Let men, while there is time, turn away from sin, give up their wicked enterprises, retrace their steps taking warning from the awful Red Sea calamity, and the terrible destruction there wrought.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR Vers. 23-31. The overthrow of the Egyptians.
Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea," etc. On this observe:
I THE INFATUATION OF THE PURSUERS (ver. 23). We do not speak of the lessons they had already received as to the folly of contending with Jehovah. The plagues were past. The memory of them had been cast behind their backs. What we do wonder at is, that when the Egyptians reached the shore, and saw there what they did see, they were not deterred from proceeding further. What did they see?
1. They saw the sea divided. They could hardly mistake this for a merely natural phenomenon. The place where the Israelites crossed may have been, under special conditions, and to a limited extent, fordable. But it is safe to say that the division now effected was one the like of which had never been heard of before, and such as, occurring at this particular juncture, ought to have convinced the Egyptians that it was a result of Gods special Providence, and intended for the protection of the Israelites. Special interpositions, on behalf of the Church, ought to arrest the attention of her enemies.
2. They saw the cloud that went with Israel move to the rear, obviously with the design of intercepting their pursuit (vers. 19, 20). This, with the ominous darkness which enveloped them, was a second circumstance which ought to have warned them that Jehovah was fighting for his people.
3. There was the danger, which could not but present itself to them, of being overwhelmed by the returning sea. In whatever way the division of the waters was conceived Of, whether as a natural phenomenon, or as a fact of supernatural origin, it was plainly a perilous experiment to attempt the pursuit. Viewing it as the result of an ebb-tide, aided by a strong east wind, there was the risk of being caught by the returning tide; or if the wind abated, or changed its direction, of being immediately submerged. In the other case there was the danger, almost the certainty, of the supernatural power which restrained the waters permitting them to flow back on the pursuers. What infatuation, then, possessed the Egyptians, prompting them to enter the sea?
(1) A false sense of honour. Having engaged in the pursuit, it would be deemed a point of honour not to desist from it, so long as the faintest chance of success remained. They had gone too far to retreat now at the waters edge.
(2) Rage. Fury and disappointment would possess them, as, in the very hour of their fancied triumph, they saw their prey thus elude them. Was Pharaoh and his mighty host to be thus mocked and set at nought thus suddenly reined up and baffled? What would Egypt think of her warriors, if, setting out on such an expedition, they returned humiliated and empty-handed? At all hazards Israel must be pursued.
(3) There was the chance of getting through. The distance was short; the way lay open; if Israel had got across, so might the Egyptians. On this chance, in the spirit of the gambler, they would stake everything. What havoc have these same motives a false sense of honour, (cf. Mat_14:9) a spirit of uncalculating rage, the headstrong gambling disposition, played in the history of the world! Together, or apart, they account formuch of its infatuation. See specially in this conduct of Pharaoh, a picture of the infatuation to which the enemies of Christs Church have so frequently been given over, and which will linger among them till the end. Compare e.g. the Apocalyptic gathering of the antichristian powers, to do battle with the Lamb. (Rev_16:14-17 Rev_19:11-21)
II THE RECEPTION WHICH THEY RECEIVED FROM GOD.
1. In the morning watch," and when the Egyptians were in the midst of the sea," God looked forth upon them from the pillar of cloud (ver. 23). The expression is a pregnant one. The look was a fire-look some fire-appearance of a startling kind which issued from the cloud, and shed terror over the pursuers. It was accompanied with thunderings and lightnings. (Psa_77:18, Psa_77:19) God"s looks are potent. When God looked " on Israel, (Exo_2:25) it meant that he was about to bring salvation to them. When he locked" on the Egyptians, it was the prelude to their destruction. Through that pillar glares forth an eye which sends a separate dismay into each Egyptian heast and all is felt to be lost. We find two imitations of this in modern poetry one by Coleridge, in his Ode on the Departing Year,"where he prays God to
Open his eye of fire from some uncertain cloud,
and another (by Southey) in the Curse of Kehama,"where, after the Man Almighty,"holding his Amreeta Cup, had exclaimed
Now, Seeva, look to thine abode!
it is added, when the cup is drunk
Then Seeva opend on the accursed one His eye of anger upon him alone The wrath beam fell He shudders, but too late. (Gilfillan.)
1. God troubled their hosts (vers. 24, 25). There is meant by this some supernatural exertion of power. It was not due to natural causes alone that the chariot wheels were taken off," and that they drave heavily. It was God who, by his heavy hand upon them, was thus obstructing their progress. The invisible powers were fighting against the Egyptians, as the stars in their courses fought against Sisera". (Jud_1:5:20) Those are sure to drive heavily, who drive in the face of God"s inhibition, and under his ban.
2. God brought the sea back upon them (ver. 26). Swiftly, fatally, at the stretching forth of Moses rod, the sea returned in its strength, and utterly overwhelmed them. And such, in its main outline, is the reception which Jehovah must give to all his enemies. His wrath already rests upon them. His fiery look will one day scare them. Even now they are troubled and impeded by it, and by the resistance which he opposes to their plans. Finally, he will overwhelm them in the sea of his wrath. He will visit them with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power". (1Th_1:9) Hence
III THEIR COMPLETE DESTRUCTION (vers. 27, 28). They perished suddenly, miserably, and all together. Type of the overthrow of God"s enemies in the end. (2Th_2:8; Rev_16:16, 17 19:17-21 20:9) The blow was a crushing one to Egypt, It filled up the measure of her punishment for the evil she had done to Israel. After the death of the first-born, there could remain nothing to Pharaoh and his servants, in the event of their still hardening themselves, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation". (Heb_10:27) Does some one say, what a waste of human life how unlike a God of mercy! Rather, surely, how striking a testimony to the reality of retribution how sure a token of the righteous doom which in the end will infallibly overtake every obdurate transgressor! God will not permit sinners always to defy him. His wrath and power are resistless. The ungodly and sinner" must expect to feel the weight of them.
IV RESULT (vers. 30, 31).
1. Israel was saved.
2. The Egyptian dead were found strewn upon the shore. This
1. A memorial of God"s vengeance.
2. An awful satire on so-called human greatness.
3. A pledge of security to Israel.
3. The people were filled with gratitude and fear. They believed the Lord. " The wonder is that after so marvellous a deliverance they could ever again doubt him. 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 Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v23 Exo_14:25. Took off their chariot wheels.] “And made glide…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Exo_14:25. Took off their chariot wheels.] “And made glide out their chariot wheels”—Kalisch. “And turneth aside the wheels of their chariots”—Young. The original word means to “make depart,” “turn away,” “put aside,” “remove,” &c. Hence, and from the incongruity of supposing any further progress made in wheelless chariots, it may well be doubted whether the rendering of the English version conveys the true meaning of the narrative. More in keeping with the context would be the more general notion of removing the wheels from their track, causing them to slip away so as to make progress extremely difficult. Only, this effect should clearly be connected with the Divine troubling of the Egyptian host. Precisely how the cause produced this effect we are not told: it is a matter of little or no Importance.
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_14:23-29
THE DIVINE TROUBLING OF THE WICKED
I. That the Divine troubling of the wicked takes place in the midst of their presumption and sin. “And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea. “Thus we see that the Egyptians were at this time in full pursuit of the Israelites, and were presumptuously following them into the miraculously divided waters. Hence they were in direct opposition to the command of God,—they were seeking the bondage and ruin of a vast people. They were animated by their besetting sin,—an intense spirit of selfish despotism Sin has immense power of will. It is careless of the greatest peril, it will pursue its design into the waters of the Red Sea, and will venture on paths which are only safe for the people of God, and in which it can easily be destroyed. It does not always act with sufficient calculation and caution; it rushes blindly to its awful destiny. It was when the Egyptians were in the midst of the waters that they were troubled by God. It is easy for God to trouble the sinner in the midst of his sin. When the sinner is hottest in pursuit and surest of success in his unholy aim, then the Divine Being can trouble him through the cloud. Belshazzar was thus troubled in the hour of his impious feast (Dan_5:9). Thus the wicked are troubled when they are engaged in their most desperate attempts at evil; when they are least expecting disaster, they are troubled by the smitings of an alarmed conscience,—they are troubled by the hand of God. The Divine eye looks through the cloud upon the exploits of the wicked.
II. That the Divine troubling of the wicked causes the mad schemes in which they are engaged to drag heavily. “And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily.” The Egyptians had got their best armaments with them,—their strongest chariots, their finest horses, their most skilful men, and all was in splendid battle array. And yet their chariots drave heavily! Why? Were they not well made? Were they not well managed? Yes; but they were troubled by God. Thus God can bring to naught the best preparations of the sinner for his cruel designs; He can render useless the finest chariots. The sinner finds it hard work to drive his car. The Divine troubling is an impediment to the enterprise of the evil-doer; in this way the success of evil to an alarming extent is prevented, and the safety of the Church is attained. Sin cannot prosper, because it is against God. It is a mercy that the chariots of sin drag heavily, or men would ride to hell more quickly than they do.
III. That the Divine troubling of the wicked sometimes causes them to wish to retreat from their evil designs when it is too late. “So that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.” Why did the Egyptians wish to flee? Were they not well armed? Was not their King with them? Were they not brave? Were they not near to the slaves they wished to recapture? There are times when sinners are obliged to see that their wicked enterprises are vain, and that they cannot succeed. They are obliged to acknowledge the failure of their best energies. They soon know when they are troubled by the Lord. Then they wish to make the best escape they can, but it is too late. Let us beware of the folly and danger of pursuing a life of sin so long that there can be no escape therefrom. It is dangerous to delay conversion. Some men will never retreat from sin till they are troubled by God, and then perhaps they cannot.
IV. That the Divine troubling of the wicked will in all probability culminate in their utter ruin and destruction. “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.… There remained not so much as one of them.” Here, then, we have a picture of what will be the end of those who sin against God, and who provoke His troubling ministries. God can employ many agencies to work their ruin. The waters will obey His behest. There are many rods by which they may be smitten. Then the display of sin, the best strength of sin, and all the allies of sin will yield to the retributive hand of God. The end of sin is to be buried in the great waters. The sinner is walking to an awful destiny. LESSONS:—
1. That the wicked are sure to be Divinely troubled.
2. That it is vain to seek to bring the Church into bondage.
3. That the end of sin is death.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo_14:22-23. The Church is pursued:—
1. By cruel tyrants.
2. By combined enemies.
3. Into hazardous places.
4. By intense hatred.
The folly of sin:—
1. It will rush into dangerous places.
2. It will risk all its best agencies.
3. It will go beyond the possibility of retreat.
The enterprise of the wicked:—
1. Divinely observed.
2. Easily troubled.
3. Terribly defeated.
Sinners are troubled:—
1. By the voice of conscience.
2. By the painful discipline of life.
3. By the failure of their best concerted schemes.
Exo_14:25-28. Morning and evening may not be the same to the wicked for their hopes.
God will stop the movements of persecuting powers in His due and proper time.
Persecutors always find that Jehovah fights for His Church.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Convictions! Exo_14:23-29. Away on the Pampa dell Sacramento roam wild tribes of Indians. Of all, the Cashiboos are the most savage and warlike. Equally cunning as fierce, when they see the traveller they do not attack him at once in the broad day. They watch and track him to his sleeping-place, and when he is locked in slumber deep, they spring upon him for the cannibal feast. Sometimes the sleeper is aroused in time to defend himself. When these wild, subtle savages find that they have no chance of success, they retire. But it is only to watch and wait, until some other night arrives when they may renew the attack with more success. Pharaoh’s lusts sought his destruction. Again and again, did they spring upon him in his sleep of self-indulgence; but he awoke to timely—though alas! transient—repentance. With cruel craft and confidence did they persist, until at last they accomplished their remorseless purpose—
“Until, at last, the crushing torrent fell,
And swept from earth the pampered child of hell.”
Wheels Dragging! Exo_14:25. It is sometimes of God’s mercy, remarks Beecher, that men in the eager pursuit of worldly aggrandisement are baffled. They are like a train going down an inclined plane—putting on the break is not pleasant, but it keeps the car on the track. A man was driving furiously down a hill in the direction of the seaport, where he was to embark for California. The carriage wheel struck against a stone, and was shattered to pieces. Bruised and angry, he curse his adverse fate, which forced him to trudge for miles along the road, only to find on arrival that the vessel had sailed. But this “drag upon the wheel” proved a mercy in disguise; for the same night, the stormy wind arose, and swept the departed ship beneath its mountain waves. How often, God makes a man’s chariot wheels drag heavily in mercy to his soul, when he will not see it. Persisting in his course, he finds himself at last sinking beneath the Waves of Woe, like Pharaoh—
“Whose heart of adamant,
Had led him to assay the ocean depths,
And satisfy his lust on Israel there.”
—Bickersteth.
Death! Exo_14:28-30. Pharaoh and his charioteer had the same watery grave. What a pill for pride! Napoleon the Great must die as well as the meanest of his camp-followers. When Xerxes wept over his three million warriors as the sure prey of relentless death, he probably forgot for the moment that his own ambitious heart would be pierced by the same sharp dart. The waters of death lie before us all—whether proud or poor, prince or pauper. Monarch and slave alike are swallowed up there, as the waves of the Red Sea make no distinction between mighty Pharaoh and the meanest of his host. What then will be the gain!
“Can storied urn, or monumental bust,
Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath?
Can glory’s voice awake the silent dust?
Or flattery soothe the dull cold ear of death?
Contrast! Exo_14:23. In some respects Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar resembled each other. Both held the Israelites in captivity—both were of mighty and lofty spirit—and both oppressed the children of the captives—both were warned by a holy prophet—and on both dread judgments descended. But here the resemblance stops. In Pharaoh, we behold a man whom no chastisement could reclaim—whom no grief could effectually humble. He had trembled at the awful thunder from heaven—and started as the fierce fire ran along the ground. He had seen the clouds of locusts darken in the sky—had beheld the river running blood—and had swelled the wail of a nation when his first-born was smitten with death. Yet Pharaoh never truly repented. His heart, like the hardened rock, returned sparks of fire for the blows that struck it. He died, as he had lived, in open rebellion against God.
“Meroy’s boon refused
Shall fall in judgment on the soul perverse
That slights the gift.”
—Mant.
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.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv23, 26 He caused panic among the Egyptians
He caused panic among the Egyptians
Panic is when someone becomes so afraid that they cannot think normally.
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Their chariot wheels were clogged
This can be stated in active form. AT: "Mud clogged their chariot wheels" or "Their chariot wheels were getting stuck in the mud" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
Egypt
Pharaoh
chariot
horseman
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 v25 14:25 He twisted their chariot wheels: The ancient versions…
14:25 He twisted their chariot wheels: The ancient versions differ on the translation of this phrase. Perhaps there was deep sand where the water had been, and this broke the light wheels of the chariots. At any rate, the Egyptian charge through the sea failed, and they became terrified. • The Lord is fighting for them: Certainly by this time everyone in Egypt was aware of the special relationship between the Lord and his people.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.