The Israelites Crossed The Red Sea And The Egyptians Drown
September 18, 2020
Commentary
The Lord asked Moses why he was crying out to Him for help (v. 15). He then told him to command the Israelites to move forward by raising his staff over the sea and the water would divide and the floor of the sea would be dry ground (v. 16). The Egyptians will be so stubborn, because of their hard hearts, they will chase you (v. 17). Then I will be praised because of what happens to the king and his chariots and calvary. The Egyptians will know for sure that I am the Lord (v. 18). God’s angel in a large cloud moved behind them so that the cloud came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of the Israelites (vv. 19-20). God sent a strong wind, the waters parted and the sea floor became dry for the children of Israel to walk across (vv. 21-22). The passage-way must have been wide in order to allow 2 million people with their flocks and herds to walk through. This was certainly a super-natural act, although God used natural forces.
The Egyptian chariots and calvary went after them (v. 23). The Egyptian army panicked, their chariots got stuck and they gave up (vv. 24-25). The Lord told Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea and when he did the water rushed over and drowned all of them (vv. 26-30). The Israelites knew the Lord had saved them by His mighty power and they worshiped Him and trusted Him and His servant Moses (v. 31). That which was salvation for Israel became condemnation to Egypt. As the Egyptians pursued after Israel God simply allowed the Red Sea to close down upon them and Pharaoh’s army drowned.
Application
Just as God delivered His people from Egypt He wants to deliver me from my bondage of sin. I am assured of victory as I allow Him to take control.
Exodus 14:15– 31 (NET)
15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 And as for you, lift up your staff and extend your hand toward the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites may go through the middle of the sea on dry ground. 17 And as for me, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will come after them, that I may be honored because of Pharaoh and his army and his chariots and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I have gained my honor because of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
19 The angel of God, who was going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. 20 It came between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp; it was a dark cloud and it lit up the night so that one camp did not come near the other the whole night. 21 Moses stretched out his hand toward the sea, and the Lord drove the sea apart by a strong east wind all that night, and he made the sea into dry land, and the water was divided. 22 So the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground, the water forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
23 The Egyptians chased them and followed them into the middle of the sea—all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 In the morning watch the Lord looked down on the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw the Egyptian army into a panic. 25 He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving, and the Egyptians said, “Let’s flee from Israel, for the Lord fights for them against Egypt!”
26 The Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward the sea, so that the waters may flow back on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen!” 27 So Moses extended his hand toward the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state when the sun began to rise. Now the Egyptians were fleeing before it, but the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the middle of the sea. 28 The water returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the army of Pharaoh that was coming after the Israelites into the sea —not so much as one of them survived! 29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground in the middle of the sea, the water forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 30 So the Lord saved Israel on that day from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore of the sea. 31 When Israel saw the great power that the Lord had exercised over the Egyptians, they feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
Illustration: Jesus is Going to Win
Vernon Grounds tells of an incident that happened while he was in seminary. Since the school had no gymnasium, he and his friends played basket ball in a nearby public school. Nearby, an elderly janitor waited patiently until the seminarians finished playing. Invariably he sat there reading his Bible. One day my friend asked him what he was reading. The man answered, ‘The book of Revelation.’ Surprised, my friend asked if he understood it. ‘Oh, yes,’ the man assured him. `I understand it.’ ‘What does it mean?’ Quietly the janitor answered, It means that Jesus is gonna win.’” Grounds concludes, “That’s the best commentary I have ever heard on that book. Jesus is going to win. That’s the Biblical mind-set.” (Source unknown).