“The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”

Exodus 14:14 (KJV)

The story

Israel has already been released, and that is what makes chapter 14 so uncomfortable. When the king of Egypt was told that the people fled, the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? The regret is economic, not moral. He makes ready his chariot and takes six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them, and the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh so that he pursued. Exodus 14:5-8

The Egyptians overtake Israel encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon. Israel is pinned between an army and open water. 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. Then, in the same breath, they turn on Moses with bitter sarcasm: Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? They would rather have served Egypt than trusted God in the open. Exodus 14:9-12

Moses answers with four commands and a promise: 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. Then God's reply reframes it again. Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward. Standing still and going forward are not contradictions here; they are the same trust, first in posture and then in movement. Exodus 14:13-15

God gives Moses the means and states his own purpose plainly: lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it, and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD. Protection comes first. The angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removes and goes behind them, and the pillar of the cloud with it, standing between the two camps. 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. The same presence is darkness to one army and light to the other. Exodus 14:16-20

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 on dry ground with the waters a wall on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians follow in. In the morning watch the LORD looks through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, troubles their host, and takes off their chariot wheels, and they say the one true thing Egypt says in the whole chapter: the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. Moses stretches out his hand again, the sea returns to his strength, and there remained not so much as one of them. Israel saw that great work, and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses. Exodus 14:21-31

Quiz

1. What reason do Pharaoh and his servants give for regretting the release?

   • They feared their gods
   • They had let Israel go from serving them
   • They wanted the wealth of Canaan
   • A prophet rebuked them

2. How did the children of Israel go out of Egypt?

   • With an high hand
   • In secret
   • By night only
   • Under guard

3. What two things did Israel do at once when they saw the Egyptians?

   • Armed themselves and advanced
   • Cried out unto the LORD and complained against Moses
   • Sang and marched
   • Scattered and hid

4. What did Moses promise about the Egyptians they saw that day?

   • They would be scattered
   • They would repent
   • They would be seen again no more for ever
   • They would follow to Canaan

5. What did the LORD tell Moses to say to the people?

   • That they go forward
   • That they turn aside
   • That they rest until morning
   • That they arm for battle

6. What purpose does the LORD state for hardening the hearts of the Egyptians?

   • To delay them
   • To get him honour upon Pharaoh and all his host
   • To spare Israel a battle
   • To test Moses

7. What did the angel of God and the pillar of the cloud do?

   • Went before Israel as always
   • Rose into the sky
   • Moved and stood behind Israel, between the two camps
   • Led the Egyptians astray

8. How did the same cloud affect the two camps differently?

   • It gave rain to one and wind to the other
   • It was cloud and darkness to the Egyptians, but gave light to Israel
   • It hid both equally
   • It burned one and cooled the other

9. By what means did the LORD divide the sea?

   • A strong east wind, all that night
   • An earthquake
   • A pillar of fire
   • The rod alone

10. What did the Egyptians conclude when their chariot wheels came off?

    • That the sea was shallow
    • That Moses was a magician
    • That the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians
    • That Pharaoh had erred

11. What happened when the sea returned to his strength?

    • The waters covered the whole host of Pharaoh
    • Only the horsemen escaped
    • The chariots were driven back to Egypt
    • A path remained open

12. How did the people respond to that great work?

    • They demanded a king
    • They feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses
    • They returned to Egypt
    • They built an altar of stone

Discussion

1. Israel cries out to the LORD and attacks Moses in the same moment. What does it look like to pray genuinely while still refusing to trust, and how do you tell the difference in yourself?
2. Moses says stand still, and God says go forward. Both are answers to the same fear. When is waiting an act of faith, and when has it quietly become a way of avoiding obedience?
3. The people preferred slavery they understood to freedom they could not control. Where do familiar chains still look safer than an unfamiliar deliverance, in your own life or in the way people around you make decisions?