Exodus 14:1-31

14:2-4 | Rather than moving in a straight path, the Lord told Moses to have the people turn and camp near the Red Sea. Such movements convinced Pharaoh that the Hebrew people were bewildered and wandering like lost sheep in the wilderness. God, however, was drawing the Egyptian army into His trap.

14:5-9 | Pharaoh pursued the Hebrew people with a large army: 600 choice chariots that each carried two people – one to drive and one to fight. A frightening sight!

14:10-14 | What a sharp change from the people’s perspective on the night their children were spared and they left Egypt with their heads held high! Moses responded to their fear and grumbling with a most remarkable inspirational speech. Israel wanted to run, but Yahweh was about to fight for His people. He still defends His children today.

14:15-18 | The Lord’s next order was, Go forward. The fact that Israel was facing the Red Sea posed no problem for God. When things seem impossible, the people of God need to obediently follow Him in faith, leaving the outcome to Him.

14:19 | Here, the Angel of God – an appearance of the Lord – moves behind the camp of Israel, joined by a second appearance, the pillar of cloud to shield the people from their enemies.

14:20 | Beyond the miracle of the pillar of cloud itself is the fact that it became cloud and darkness to the Egyptians but light by night to the people of Israel. The same event can secure victory for one army and defeat another. This was true of the Exodus and will be true of the second coming of Christ (Rev. 19).

14:21-22 | A strong east wind was again used in a supernatural act of the Lord, this time to divide the waters into two walls and create a passageway for the people. The crossing of the Red Sea was for the people of Israel what the death and resurrection of Christ are for the believer today (Rom. 6:4).

14:25-27 | Took off means “bound” or “jammed.” The Lord made the chariot wheels hard to turn so that these fearsome carriages were made ineffective. For the Lord to cause the water to return to its full depth just as the Egyptians were entering it is also a miracle (Ps. 77:10-20).

14:31 | Here is the definitive statement of the Hebrew people coming to true faith at the time of the Exodus. The language believed the Lord also describes Abram’s faith in Gen. 15:6 – with the same result: the people were declared righteous (Rom. 4:9-12).