“And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.”

Exodus 14:31 (KJV)

The story

The crisis of Exodus 14 begins after the deliverance, not before it. When the king of Egypt is told that the people fled, the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants is turned against the people, and their complaint is entirely about lost labour: Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? He makes ready his chariot and takes six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. The narrator adds the theological cause alongside the political one: the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel. Exodus 14:5-8

The geography is a trap, and it is a trap God arranged. The Egyptians overtake Israel encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon, with water ahead and chariots behind. 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. The cry is genuine, and it sits immediately beside its opposite. Exodus 14:9-10

The complaint against Moses is savage and revealing: Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? They claim they had said as much in Egypt, and that it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. Slavery had at least been predictable. Faith is being asked of them at the exact point where they can no longer see any mechanism by which rescue could work, and they find they have none to give. Exodus 14:11-12

Moses answers with a fourfold command and a reason: Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. God's reply to Moses then adds the complement: Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward. Trust is not passivity. The people must stand still with respect to self-rescue and go forward with respect to obedience, and the sea does not part until the rod is lifted. Exodus 14:13-16

God states his own purpose twice, and it is larger than Israel's safety: I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD. Before any water moves, protection is put in place. The angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them, and the pillar of the cloud with it, coming between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. It was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. One presence, two opposite effects, determined by which side of it a man stands. Exodus 14:17-20

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. Israel walks through with the waters a wall on their right hand and on their left, and the Egyptians pursue into the same corridor. In the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled them, and took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily. Their conclusion is orthodox and too late: the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. Moses stretches out his hand once more, the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared, and there remained not so much as one of them. The chapter ends not with celebration but with a settled verdict: the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses. Exodus 14:21-31

Quiz

1. What is the stated reason for Pharaoh's change of heart?

   • Israel had taken Egyptian property
   • They had let Israel go from serving them
   • His army demanded it
   • A plague had ceased

2. Besides the six hundred chosen chariots, what else did Pharaoh take?

   • All the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them
   • The priests of Egypt
   • Ships for the sea
   • The treasure of Egypt

3. What does the narrator say about the heart of Pharaoh in verse 8?

   • Pharaoh hardened it alone
   • It was softened
   • The LORD hardened it
   • It is not mentioned

4. What two responses does Israel make simultaneously in verses 10 to 12?

   • They cry out unto the LORD and accuse Moses of bringing them out to die
   • They arm and advance
   • They pray and fast
   • They send messengers to Pharaoh

5. What had the people claimed they told Moses back in Egypt?

   • That they would follow anywhere
   • Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians
   • That the sea would stop them
   • That Pharaoh would relent

6. What does Moses promise about seeing the Egyptians again?

   • They shall follow to the mountain
   • They shall be seen again no more for ever
   • They shall return in peace
   • They shall be met in Canaan

7. How does the LORD's instruction complement Moses' call to stand still?

   • He tells them to wait for morning
   • He tells them to return to Egypt
   • He tells them to go forward
   • He tells them to arm themselves

8. What twofold purpose does the LORD state for what he is about to do?

   • To get him honour upon Pharaoh, and that the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD
   • To test Israel and to punish Moses
   • To end the famine and open the trade route
   • To divide the land and settle the tribes

9. What repositioning happens before the sea is divided?

   • Israel turns back toward Egypt
   • The angel of God and the pillar of the cloud move behind Israel
   • Moses climbs a mountain
   • The Egyptians camp for the night

10. How is the effect of the cloud described for each camp?

    • Rain for one, wind for the other
    • Silence for both
    • Cloud and darkness to the Egyptians, light by night to Israel
    • Fire for both

11. What did the LORD do to the Egyptians in the morning watch?

    • Troubled their host and took off their chariot wheels
    • Blinded their horses
    • Sent hail upon them
    • Turned them back to Egypt

12. How does the chapter describe Israel's final response?

    • They murmured again
    • They feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses
    • They divided the spoil
    • They asked for a sign

Reflection

1. The people cry out to the LORD in verse 10 and accuse Moses of leading them to their graves in verse 11. Prayer and unbelief are recorded side by side without comment. Where does that combination show up in your own praying, and what would it take for the crying out to become actual trust?
2. Israel judged their situation by the two things they could see, water ahead and chariots behind, and concluded that slavery had been the better option. What present circumstance are you assessing purely by visible mechanism, and what would change if the question became what God has promised rather than how it could possibly work?
3. The same pillar was darkness to Egypt and light to Israel. Consider how one act of God can be mercy and judgment at once depending on which side of it a person stands, and how that should shape both the confidence and the sobriety with which believers speak about God's work.

Cross references

Hebrews 11:29

By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

1 Corinthians 10:1-2

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;