UNDERSTANDING THE RED SEA EXODUS 14-15
1. THE SET UP
a. God traps Israel
EXODUS 14:1-2 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi- hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you must camp in front of Baal- zephon, facing it by the sea.”
b. God strengthens Pharaoh’s bad idea to go get them
EXODUS 14:3-4 Pharaoh will say of the Israelites: “They are wandering around the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in. I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” So the Israelites did this.
EXODUS 14:5-7 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people and said: “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.” So he got his chariot ready and took his troops with him; he took 600 of the best chariots and all the rest of the chariots of Egypt, with officers in each one.
EXODUS 14:8-9 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out triumphantly. The Egyptians — all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen, and his army — chased after them and caught up with them as they camped by the sea beside Pi- hahiroth, in front of Baal- zephon.
EXODUS 14:10-11 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians coming after them. Then the Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help. They said to Moses: “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
EXODUS 14:12 Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians?’ It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
EXODUS 14:13-14 But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation He will provide for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet.”
ISRAEL REACTS
EXODUS 14:10-11 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians coming after them. Then the Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help. They said to Moses: “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?”
ISRAEL REACTS • They blame
EXODUS 14:12 “Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians?’ It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
ISRAEL REACTS • They blame • They revise
EXODUS 4:29-31 Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites. Aaron repeated everything the Lord had said to Moses and performed the signs before the people. The people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had paid attention to them and that He had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped.
GOD’S COMMAND
EXODUS 14:13-14 But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation He will provide for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet.”
ISRAEL REACTS • They blame • They revise • They embrace their helplessness • They trust the Lord
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE “Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed.”
THE SET UP: • God has moved Israel from a place of joy and celebration to being trapped, helpless, and facing their worst fear. • God instructs them to be quiet.
2. THE SIGNS
EXODUS 14:15-17 The Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to break camp. As for you, lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen.
EXODUS 14:18-19 The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” Then the Angel of God, who was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them.
EXODUS 14:20 It came between the Egyptian and Israelite forces. The cloud was there in the darkness, yet it lit up the night. So neither group came near the other all night long.
a. The Clouds b. The Waters
EXODUS 14:21-22 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left.
EXODUS 14:23-24 The Egyptians set out in pursuit — all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen — and went into the sea after them. Then during the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the Egyptian forces from the pillar of fire and cloud, and threw them into confusion.
EXODUS 14:25 He caused their chariot wheels to swerve and made them drive with difficulty. “Let’s get away from Israel,” the Egyptians said, “because Yahweh is fighting for them against Egypt!”
EXODUS 14:26-27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal depth. While the Egyptians were trying to escape from it, the Lord threw them into the sea.
EXODUS 14:28 The waters came back and covered the chariots and horsemen, the entire army of Pharaoh, that had gone after them into the sea. None of them survived.
3. THE SONG
EXODUS 14:29-31 But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.
a. Fear b. Praise
1 CORINTHIANS 15:54 When this corruptible is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:55-57 Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
1 CORINTHIANS 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lords work, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
HEBREWS 2:14-15 Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the Devil—and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.
Recommend
More recommend
