1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea.
1. Is God a poor general, why would God allow the Israelites to camp with their backs to the sea and no way to escape the Pharaoh’s army?
Pharaoh has spies watching the children of Israel. The movement of perhaps two and a half million people would be difficult to conceal anyway. Pharaoh expects the Israelites to move up the coastal route and through the land of the Philistines. When they head toward the wilderness, he thinks they are lost and do not know where they are going.
God says that when he thinks they are trapped, he will pursue them. It is obvious that Pharaoh let the Israelites go reluctantly. God is not through with this man Pharaoh yet. JVM
It didn’t take a military genius to figure out that what the Israelites were doing was to put themselves in a very vulnerable position, trapped, between natural barriers. Were Pharaoh to pursue them, they would be in a bunch of trouble. God explained through Moses that this change of course was indeed intended to encourage Pharaoh’s pursuit. Pharaoh, God knew, would think that the Israelites were miserably lost or misguided, and that recovering them as a work force would be like “taking candy from a baby.” Pharaoh’s attack would result in his defeat, to the glory of God.
As we will see later, God is a superior general. When Joshua leads the Israelites into the “promised land” he one battle after battle and defeated much larger armies than his own using military tactics that are still being studied and taught in military colleges throughout the world. Joshua was not a trained military man, he followed the direction of the commander in chief, the LORD.
Some military wisdom:
“If your attack is going too well, you’re walking into an ambush.” – Infantry Journal
“Aim towards the Enemy.” – Instruction printed on US Rocket Launcher
“When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend. – U.S. Marine Corps
“It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just Bombed.” – U.S. Air Force Manual
“The only time you have too much fuel is when you’re on fire.”
Basic Flying Rules: “Try to stay in the middle of the air. Do not go near the edges of it. The edges of the air can be recognized by the appearance of ground, buildings, sea, trees and interstellar space. It is much more difficult to fly there.”
3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’ 4 Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.” And they did so. 5 Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”
2. Why would the Pharaoh again change his mind about letting the Israelites go?
Bumper sticker “if you love something, let it go, if it doesn’t come back, hunt it down and kill it”. It might have been on the bumper of the Pharaoh’s chariot.
Pharaoh will say … I will harden.
Pharaoh was kept abreast of Israelite progress and when he heard of the change of direction, he assumed they were lost in unfamiliar territory and were trapped, closed in by desert, sea, and marsh. God intervened again and the stage was set for the final confrontation and final display of divine power.
“Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?“
Hardened hearts lost all sensitivity to the recent tragedy and focused instead on the loss of the economic benefit Israel’s enslavement had provided. Those who had urged the Israelites to quickly leave now had the urge to force them to return!
3. What would six hundred chariots be like in today’s terms?
600 MI Abram Battle tanks. These were state of the art weapons. There were probably thousands of horses and soldiers.
Chariots, introduced by the Hyksos, featured prominently in the army of Egypt, and these “select” ones belonged to an elite, specialized unit. MSBN
The possession of chariots represented a significant advantage in ancient Near Eastern warfare; Egypt was proficient in the use of chariots, as indicated by the distinction of six hundred chosen chariots in addition to all the others. Pharaoh was coming out against what appeared to be a wandering and trapped nation with his most prestigious and imposing force. ESVN
And he took six hundred chosen chariots,.… The chief and best he had, war chariots, chariots of iron; perhaps such as had iron scythes t0 them, to cut down men as they drove along; these were taken partly for quickness of dispatch, that they might be able the sooner to overtake the Israelites, who had got several days’ marches before them; and partly for their strength and the annoyance of their enemies with them: and all the chariots of Egypt: as many as could in so short a time be got together: for the words are not to be taken in the utmost latitude, but to signify a great number, and all that could be conveniently come at: the Greek version is, “all the horse”, the cavalry, which better distinguishes them from the former:and captains over everyone of them: over everyone of the chariots, so that they must each of them have many in them, to have captains over them: and perhaps the infantry, or foot soldiers, for, quickness of expedition, were put into them; for, besides these, there were horsemen: Josephus makes the whole number of his army to be 50,000 horse, and 200,000 foot, and the same number is given by a Jewish chronologer: but Patricides, an Arabic writer, says it consisted of 600,000, and Ezekiel , the tragic poet, has made it amount to a million of horse and foot: should it be asked where horses could be had to draw the chariots, and horses for the horsemen after mentioned, when all were destroyed by the hail, Ex 9:25 it may be replied, that only those in the field were killed, not such as were in stables, where chariot horses and horses for war may be supposed to be: besides, as the Targum of Jonathan intimates, these might belong to these servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord, and took their cattle home, Ex 9:20. Gill
10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the
Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”
4. The situation looks hopeless. The people are complaining and regretting leaving
Egypt. Why does God put us in hopeless situations?
The Red Sea is ahead of the Israelites, and the hosts of Egypt are behind them. These poor defenseless people are caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea. From a natural viewpoint, the Israelites are in a bad spot.
“Because there were no graves in Egypt”
This is a rather ironic statement, and I am sure it was even more so in that day. The great pyramids stood as monuments to the burial places of kings. Mummies were all over the place in Egypt; it was a great burying ground. The children of Israel were saying, “Did you bring us all the way out into the wilderness to die because there was not room to bury us in the land of Egypt?” The Israelites are sure they are going to be slaughtered out in the wilderness. JVM
Many times God allows us to be temped and tested to the breaking point such that we can discern the quality of our faith.
James 1:12 (KJV) Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV2011) No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Exodus 14:13-18 (NKJV) And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” 15 And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16 But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17 And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
5. How can we possibly believe that God was able to open up a large deep sea and let the Israelites pass through on the dry bottom?
God created the world by speaking it into existence. He makes stuff out of nothing. If God can create the entire universe out ofnothing in 6 days is it conceivable that He can move water overnight.
Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. 2 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night. 21 Then 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 into dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. 25 And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.” 26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” 27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. 29 But the children of Israel had
walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 30 So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses.
6. Who was the Angel of God?
Where the angel of the Lord or of God appears in the OT, he is often described as acting or speaking in a manner that suggests he is more than simply an angel or messenger and that he is closely identified with God himself (e.g., Gen. 22:11–18)
Genesis 22:11-18 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything t0 him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” 15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 1 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
He appears to Moses in a flame of fire, which is a sign of God’s presence throughout the events narrated in the book of Exodus: in the pillar of fire and cloud that leads and protects the Israelites (Ex. 13:21–22); in the signs of God’s presence on Mount Sinai (19:18); and in the tabernacle (40:38). The angel also protects Israel when they come out of Egypt (14:19), and God promises that he will go before Israel into the land of Canaan (23:20; 33:2). In 3:4 this angel of God is identified as “the Lord” and “God.”
7. What steps did the Lord take to prevent the Egyptians from overtaking the Israelites?
a. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them,
coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel.
b. brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.
c. the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion.
d. He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving
8. Why must we fear the Lord in order to trust Him?
Psalms 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
The fear of high voltage electricity is the beginning of survival. This kind of fear is a respect for power, not a terror of an arbitrary and malevolent being.
ESVN………….ESV Study Bible Notes
·MSBN…….MacArthur NASB Study Notes
·NIVSN…..NIV Study Notes.
·JVM ….J Vernon McGee,
·ACC …. Adam Clarke’s Commentary
·BN …..Barnes Notes
·WBC…… Wycliffe Bible Commentary
·CN …… Constables Notes
·IC……….Ironside Commentary
·NET………Net Bible Study Notes.
·JFB…………..Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary
·VWS……………..Vincent Word Studies
·CMM………….Commentary on Matthew and Mark
·BDB………….. Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
·Darby………..John Darby’s Synopsis of the OT and NT
·Johnson………Johnson’s Notes on the New Testament.
·NTCMM…………..The New Testament Commentary: Matthew and Mark
·Gill………………….John Gill Commentary.
·
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