Exodus 14: Parting of the Red Sea

Although I’ve heard some of these Old Testament stories since I was a child, I always forget the details. So reading through the Old Testament is proving to be an adventure. Just as I finished reading about how the Israelites are freed from slavery in Egypt after ten plagues, including death of every firstborn Egyptian male and cattle, here comes a twist in chapter 14.

It begins with Pharaoh and his officials changing their minds and saying, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” And so begins a pursuit. Pharaoh and his army of horses and 600 of his best chariots, in addition to “all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over them,” horsemen and troops. They overtake the Israelites. The Egyptians pursued and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth (see map).

(Click on the map link above to enlarge the map.)

And as I read about the Israelites desperation in the desert, I find a little bit of comic relief in Exodus 14:10-12. As Pharaoh and his tremendous army approach the Israelites, who had been boldly marching out of Egypt up to now, they are suddenly terrified and cry out to the Lord. They said to Moses,

“Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” 

Moses answered the people,

“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Then the Lord questioned Moses as to why he was crying out to God? He commanded the Israelites to keep moving, and reminded Moses that he had been given a supernatural staff to be used to accomplish miracles, or “signs and wonders.” As explained in Exodus 4:5, “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

So Moses listened and did as God told him:

“Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”

Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved to behind them, separating the Israelites from the army of Egypt. Throughout the night, the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side, so the two armies remained distant.

This is a tiled mural of Exodus 14 from Mozaico.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided and the Israelites were able to go through the sea on dry land with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

One of many famous paintings done by artist Arnold Friberg for the Hollywood movie, "The Ten Commandments."

Pharaoh’s tremendous army of more than 600 chariots, horsemen, troops and officials pursued, but the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariots.

The Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!”

Then at daybreak, the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back…” The entire army of Pharaoh was covered by the sea. None of them survived (Exodus 14:26-27).

"But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant” (Exodus 14:29-31).

The Contest with Pharaoh (Exodus 5-11)

When reading through this story, my first thoughts are, “How does this apply to me in real life?!” Does God still cause plagues or perform supernatural signs and wonders anyway? This post will help explain the how and why of the Exodus with a practical application for today.

In Exodus 4, Moses and Aaron obeyed the Lord and made plans to travel to Egypt to confront Pharaoh. They first met with the elders of Israel and explained how the Lord wanted to deliver the Israelites out of their 430 years of slavery in Egypt. The elders were greatly moved when they heard that God had heard their cries for help and was concerned with them. The elders bowed down and worshipped the Lord.

According to my textbook, the story of the Exodus (exiting) of Egypt is one of great struggle between Yahweh, “God of the Hebrews,” and Pharaoh, “King of Egypt.” God’s command of “Let my people go,” is said repeatedly, and so is the king’s refusal, “I will not let Israel go.” In addition to not knowing anything about this “God of the Hebrews,” Pharaoh was a king and had economic reasons to cause him to not want the Israelite slaves to leave; it would mean less productivity and maintenance of the social and economic system of Egypt at the time. Likewise, God did not want a half-hearted partial surrender of the Israelites; God wanted Pharaoh to choose to drive them out of his land entirely to ensure that future generations would know they are free.

Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh 10 times, and each time Pharaoh responds.

Exodus Chapter & Verse	Sign or Plague	Meaning in Story	What Happened Next
7:8-13	Snake or sea monster	God unleashes chaos over which God is sovereign; he controls.	Pharaoh’s magicians replicate the sign. God’s snake swallows up their snake.
7:14-25	Blood in all water	God has power over water, the source of life.	Pharaoh’s magicians replicate the sign so Pharaoh’s heart remains hardened.
8:1-15	Frogs in Nile, houses, bedrooms, kitchens, everywhere!	God has power over the sacred Nile River.	Pharaoh acknowledges the power of God and asks Moses to pray for God to stop. Moses prays. When the plague stops, Pharaoh hardens his heart again.
8:16-19	Dust of the ground turns into gnats.	This is a reminder that mankind one day returns to the dust.	Pharaoh’s magicians cannot replicate this sign.
8:20-32	Flies cover the land and ruin the crops, except not in Goshen, where the Israelites are living.	God has power over all the land. God makes a distinction between “my people and your people.”	Pharaoh tells Moses and Aaron they can leave for 3 days to offer sacrifices to their God in the desert.
9:1-7	Diseased livestock	God has power over animal life.	Pharaoh sent men to investigate; none of the Israelites animals were diseased. Pharaoh still remained unyielding.
9:8-12	Boils on men and animals	God has power over human well-being.	Pharaoh’s magicians are covered in boils.
9:13-35	Hail, “the worst storm in the land of Egypt’s history”	God has power over plant life.	Some of Pharaoh’s officials by now fear God; Pharaoh admits he has sinned.
10:1-20	Locusts now destroy any remaining crops.	God has power over all creation.	Pharaoh’s officials now plead with Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Pharaoh almost allows the men to leave but not the women and children.
10:21-29	Darkness (except not in Goshen)	Judgment against God’s enemies	Pharaoh will now allow all slaves to go, just not the livestock. Moses explains, “not a hoof is to be left behind.” Pharaoh: “Get out of my sight! Make sure you do not appear before me again! The day you see my face you will die.”
11:1-10; 12:29-30	Death of the firstborn male and firstborn cattle of all Egyptians.	God claims Egypt’s future.	The firstborn of all Israelites are protected (Passover). Pharaoh commands the Israelites to leave.

Pharaoh learned that this God of the Israelites is “beyond his control.” Egypt was not autonomous and all powerful as Pharaoh willed. The plagues were acts of judgment to demonstrate God’s sovereign rule over Egypt and over Pharaoh’s heart (i.e., his will or disposition). It is worth noting that before each plague, Pharaoh was warned a day in advance so he could take action or change his mind.

The signs and wonders that God performed through Moses and Aaron (through the staff that God supplied them) are obviously supernatural and cannot be explained exactly. To believe these supernatural occurrences is a willingness to believe that there is a God over Creation and this God often uses nature (and science in nature) to accomplish his exact purposes.

The plagues are a type of “reversal of creation” in that there was contamination of water and land, affliction of humans and animals, destruction of plants, and removal of light. The act of darkness was in response to the Egyptian’s worship of the sun god Re (or Ra). The Nile had also been associated with several Egyptian deities: Hapi, Isis, and Khnum. With each plague, the Israelites in Goshen were spared because God said he was making a distinction between “my people” and Pharaoh’s land.

Eventually, Pharaoh receives mercy in the form of the Israelites leaving Egypt.

Application:

1. God intends to separate “His people” from those who do not worship Him.
2. God hears our prayers and answers but not always in the timing or way we imagine.
3. God’s nature shows compassion and mercy, as well as judgment and discipline.
4. God makes a distinction between those who are called “His own” and those who are indifferent to serving and obeying Him. This is a theme that runs throughout the Bible.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:32)

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—“ (John 1:12)