Israel Crosses the Red Sea

Israel Crosses the Red Sea

The Israelites take action (Exodus 14.15-18)

1. God directs them to march to the sea
2. Do not surrender! Do not form ranks! Go to the shore!  There they are trapped with no escape
3. Moses lifts the rod over the sea, the LORD promises victory

“That moment of anguish called not for prayer but for action.”[1]

After Israel obeys and takes action, God takes action (Exodus 14.19-21)

“That is, the angel of God and the pillar of cloud, instead of being in front of the Israelites, as hitherto, now stand behind them.  The pillar is the instrument of the angel.”[2]

1. When Israel obeys, God moves, God protects, God makes a way where there is no way
2. As the Angel stands guard and God’s wind forges a highway through the Red Sea

The crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 14.21-29)

1. Israelites cross, dry land, walls of water on both sides (14.21-22, 29)
2. Egyptians attempt to cross, all of them (14.23-28)

And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, Exodus 14.24

the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians

“the LORD looked forth.  Metaphorical for lightning.  One glance of God’s eye sufficed to throw into hopeless confusion the enemies of His redeemed firstborn . . . There was a hurricane raging with tornado force, causing the sea to go back, amidst a darkness lit up only by the glare of lightning, as ‘the LORD looked out’ from the black skies.”[3]

1. He troubled them, chariot wheels come off, they realize the LORD is fighting them
2. Imagine the horror of the enemies of the people of God, when God steps into battle!
3. Moses stretches out his hand, the waters crash on the Egyptians, they try to flee, but all drown

Glory Exodus 14.30-31

“the LORD saved Israel.  It was not a victory in which a feeling of pride or self-exaltation could enter.  Unlike any other nation that has thrown off the yoke of slavery, neither Israel nor its leader claimed any merit of glory for its victory.”[4]

“Moses composed a song of victory and praise (15:1-18).  The song expressed the people’s faith in Yahweh.  It is so exclusively focused on God that Moses is not event mentioned.  This presents a sharp contrast to the literature of Israel’s neighbors which lauded their heroes.”[5]

No one could claim the glory, because the LORD started the process that day of deliverance

and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore (Exodus 14.30)

1. On the other side, all Israel could see is the greatest army in the world closing in
2. Moses tells them stand still, take their posts, see the salvation of the LORD (Exodus 14.13)
3. From this side of the Red Sea, Israel now sees their dead enemy
4. From this side of deliverance, Israel begins to understand the salvation of God
5. Israel begins to see, they begin to witness God’s hand at work, begin to fear, begin to believe

notes:

1.  J.H. Hertz, The Pentateuch and Haftorahs (London: Socino Press, 1960), 268.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid., 269.
4. Ibid., 270.
5. William Sanford Lasor, David Allan Hubbard, and Frederic William Bush, Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI, Cambridge, UK: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1996), 71.