Exodus 14:5-31
“And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” (Exodus 14:5)
Although Pharaoh had allowed the people to leave, he still expected them to spend a few days in the wilderness and then return home. When he realized they had no intention of returning he also realized the Egyptians would no longer be able to avail themselves of their services and would have to do those menial tasks themselves. It wasn’t a pleasant thought. Letting them leave seemed like a bad decision.
“And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.” (Exodus 14:6-9)
Knowing Israel might resist going back into slavery, Pharaoh took the main body of his army, including his calvary and armored troops to recapture them. Though the army could move faster than the Israelites it took them about six days to catch up, thanks to their forced marches and head start. Pharaoh’s army caught up setting up camp at the mouth of Wadi Watir, next to the cliffs of Pihahiroth. It must have appeared they were well and truly trapped, based on the pictures I have seen of the area.
“And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.” (Exodus 14:10-12)
Knowing how badly the Egyptians had treated them in the past, when they saw the army coming, the Israelites panicked, expecting to be really punished this time. They quickly concluded it would have been better just to keep on enduring what the Egyptians handed out. They had resisted following Moses because they feared that very thing. Tyrants of all kinds, whether the childhood bully, the domineering mate or boss or a national dictator, depend on fear to keep control.
“And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:13-14)
Despite their fear, Israel was exactly where God wanted them to be. Moses explained they had no reason to be afraid because they would never again see these Egyptians. God would fight for them and they would not have to defend themselves. They would get a view of God’s power.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.” (Exodus 14:15-18)
Because they were afraid, the Israelites were praying. God rebuked Moses for their prayers because they were the product of fear rather than faith. Instead, they needed to take action and go forward. Moses was to stretch out his rod over the water and it would divide so Israel could walk across on dry ground. Determined not to let them escape the Egyptians would follow them and learn who God was. Pharaoh would never again ask “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?…” like he did in Exodus 5:2.
“And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.” (Exodus 14:19-20)
Israel was already camped on the shore when the Egyptians caught up. The angel of God took his place between the Egyptian army and the Israelites to prevent an attack, and the pillar of cloud and fire also moved between them. With darkness already setting in , the cloud produced a fog that destroyed visibility on the Egyptian side while giving Israel to see. Unable to see what was happening and convinced the Israelites had no place to go, the army posted guards and rested until morning. Another night of worrying might well destroy their morale.
“And 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 dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.” (Exodus 14:21-22)
A very strong east wind developed when Moses stretched out his rod, perhaps something like the Santa Anna winds of California and blew all night. It was strong enough to divide the waters, exposing bare ground and dry it over night. Some have speculated that the funnel effect through the canyon caused the water to freeze, similar to what occurs in various ice caves, but the sheer size and layout makes it impossible for this to have been a mere natural phenomenon. As soon as it was dry enough Israel began to cross the sea.
“And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.” (Exodus 14:23)
When the Egyptians saw what was happening, they were determined not to let them escape and chased after them to the middle of the Gulf. At this point the Gulf of Aqaba is about eleven miles wide, so the Egyptian army would have been about five or six miles from shore with walls of water on either side..
“And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.” (Exodus 14:24-25)
About ten o’clock that morning, the army was getting too close to the Israelites, so God caused a disruption to slow them down. One of the things he did was to cause chariot wheels to come off. The result was very much the same as losing a wheel off your car. While they could still go, they were much slower and harder for the horses to pull. Since the chariots were far faster than the foot soldiers, this would have slowed the rest of the army as well. Suddenly the Egyptians became fully aware that they were five miles from shore between two walls of water with a bunch of broken down chariots. They decided they better get out while they still could.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.” (Exodus 14:26-28)
Even a two foot wall of water will wash cars away and knock horses and people down leaving them gasping for air and it would have taken fifteen or twenty minutes for even the fastest runners to have made it to shore. When the walls closed in there was no chance to escape. No one survived.
In the early I900’s a number of Egyptian chariot wheels dating from about 1650 BC were discovered far out in the gulf of Aqaba at the location described. Near by were skeletons and chariots without wheels but the discovery was largely ignored. Archaeologists had discovered that Ramses II built a city called Ramses between about 1330 BC and 1309 BC. Bishop Usher assumed that the reference to leaving Ramses in Exodus 12:37 referred to the city of Ramses, he erroneously dated the Exodus as about 1300 BC. If the tradition that Moses wrote all five books of the Pentateuch makes it that possible, ignoring the fact that part of Egypt had been called the land of Ramses more than four hundred years before in Genesis 47:11. He also ignored the time frame described in the book of Judges, assuming the period between the capture of Jericho and Saul assuming the throne to be approximately two hundred seventy five years. Judges records a period of four hundred seventy years, and does not include the administrations of Joshua and Samuel.
Usher’s Chronology was generally accepted and since many scholars assumed the crossing to be of the Gulf of Suez, the discovery of wheels dating more than three hundred years earlier on the Gulf of Aqaba was assumed to be the result of a ship wreck. That an of ancient column dating to Solomon’s time containing largely unreadable inscriptions referring to Moses in various languages was discovered on each bank was also ignored. Halley’s Bible Handbook and a few other references recorded the discoveries, but most Bible maps and references never mention them.
The Egyptian economy was in shambles as a result of the plagues. Pharaoh and most of the Egyptian army was wiped out when the Red Sea closed on them. With no leadership and no army, Egypt was easily taken over by a relatively weak Canaanite group know as the Hyksos about 1650 BC. Neither the Bible or the Egyptian records give precise dates to these events, and the main information about the Hyksos domination comes from countries that traded with Egypt. They would remain in power until the establishment of the New Kingdom about 1550 BC.
Egypt would not again lose it’s military power until the end of the New Kingdom. After the end of the New Kingdom they embarked on numerous wars, steadily losing power and being ruled by a succession of invaders , including the Greeks and Romans. Why does it matter whether the Biblical record is accurate or not? Quite simply, if the Bible is not accurate in the historical record, the things we can verify, we have no reason to trust things which cannot be verified. Attempts top adjust the biblical record to fit scientific discoveries rather than accepting what it says casts serious doubt on it’s validity. If it is true, eventually, science will prove it.
“But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.” (Exodus 14:29-31)
A few of the Egyptian bodies washed ashore, but Israel was no longer under pressure to escape. They could take the time to prepare leavened bread from that time on. Never again would Egypt have power to control them. Any future submission to Egypt would be voluntary. It is a powerful illustration of the Christian’s deliverance from sin. The tradition that Moses wrote all the Pentateuch himself made it easy to assume the reference to the land of Ramses in Genesis 47:11 referred to the future city of Ramses, rather than the area. If it was in fact written by a contemporary writer, it could not have referred to a city that would not be built for almost eight hundred years. Accepting tradition as fact without questioning is a frequent source of error.
Although Pharaoh had allowed the people to leave, he still expected them to spend a few days in the wilderness and then return home. When he realized they had no intention of returning he also realized the Egyptians would no longer be able to avail themselves of their services and would have to do those menial tasks themselves. It wasn’t a pleasant thought. Letting them leave seemed like a bad decision.
“And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.” (Exodus 14:6-9)
Knowing Israel might resist going back into slavery, Pharaoh took the main body of his army, including his calvary and armored troops to recapture them. Though the army could move faster than the Israelites it took them about six days to catch up, thanks to their forced marches and head start. Pharaoh’s army caught up setting up camp at the mouth of Wadi Watir, next to the cliffs of Pihahiroth. It must have appeared they were well and truly trapped, based on the pictures I have seen of the area.
“And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.” (Exodus 14:10-12)
Knowing how badly the Egyptians had treated them in the past, when they saw the army coming, the Israelites panicked, expecting to be really punished this time. They quickly concluded it would have been better just to keep on enduring what the Egyptians handed out. They had resisted following Moses because they feared that very thing. Tyrants of all kinds, whether the childhood bully, the domineering mate or boss or a national dictator, depend on fear to keep control.
“And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:13-14)
Despite their fear, Israel was exactly where God wanted them to be. Moses explained they had no reason to be afraid because they would never again see these Egyptians. God would fight for them and they would not have to defend themselves. They would get a view of God’s power.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.” (Exodus 14:15-18)
Because they were afraid, the Israelites were praying. God rebuked Moses for their prayers because they were the product of fear rather than faith. Instead, they needed to take action and go forward. Moses was to stretch out his rod over the water and it would divide so Israel could walk across on dry ground. Determined not to let them escape the Egyptians would follow them and learn who God was. Pharaoh would never again ask “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?…” like he did in Exodus 5:2.
“And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.” (Exodus 14:19-20)
Israel was already camped on the shore when the Egyptians caught up. The angel of God took his place between the Egyptian army and the Israelites to prevent an attack, and the pillar of cloud and fire also moved between them. With darkness already setting in , the cloud produced a fog that destroyed visibility on the Egyptian side while giving Israel to see. Unable to see what was happening and convinced the Israelites had no place to go, the army posted guards and rested until morning. Another night of worrying might well destroy their morale.
“And 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 dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.” (Exodus 14:21-22)
A very strong east wind developed when Moses stretched out his rod, perhaps something like the Santa Anna winds of California and blew all night. It was strong enough to divide the waters, exposing bare ground and dry it over night. Some have speculated that the funnel effect through the canyon caused the water to freeze, similar to what occurs in various ice caves, but the sheer size and layout makes it impossible for this to have been a mere natural phenomenon. As soon as it was dry enough Israel began to cross the sea.
“And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.” (Exodus 14:23)
When the Egyptians saw what was happening, they were determined not to let them escape and chased after them to the middle of the Gulf. At this point the Gulf of Aqaba is about eleven miles wide, so the Egyptian army would have been about five or six miles from shore with walls of water on either side..
“And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.” (Exodus 14:24-25)
About ten o’clock that morning, the army was getting too close to the Israelites, so God caused a disruption to slow them down. One of the things he did was to cause chariot wheels to come off. The result was very much the same as losing a wheel off your car. While they could still go, they were much slower and harder for the horses to pull. Since the chariots were far faster than the foot soldiers, this would have slowed the rest of the army as well. Suddenly the Egyptians became fully aware that they were five miles from shore between two walls of water with a bunch of broken down chariots. They decided they better get out while they still could.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.” (Exodus 14:26-28)
Even a two foot wall of water will wash cars away and knock horses and people down leaving them gasping for air and it would have taken fifteen or twenty minutes for even the fastest runners to have made it to shore. When the walls closed in there was no chance to escape. No one survived.
In the early I900’s a number of Egyptian chariot wheels dating from about 1650 BC were discovered far out in the gulf of Aqaba at the location described. Near by were skeletons and chariots without wheels but the discovery was largely ignored. Archaeologists had discovered that Ramses II built a city called Ramses between about 1330 BC and 1309 BC. Bishop Usher assumed that the reference to leaving Ramses in Exodus 12:37 referred to the city of Ramses, he erroneously dated the Exodus as about 1300 BC. If the tradition that Moses wrote all five books of the Pentateuch makes it that possible, ignoring the fact that part of Egypt had been called the land of Ramses more than four hundred years before in Genesis 47:11. He also ignored the time frame described in the book of Judges, assuming the period between the capture of Jericho and Saul assuming the throne to be approximately two hundred seventy five years. Judges records a period of four hundred seventy years, and does not include the administrations of Joshua and Samuel.
Usher’s Chronology was generally accepted and since many scholars assumed the crossing to be of the Gulf of Suez, the discovery of wheels dating more than three hundred years earlier on the Gulf of Aqaba was assumed to be the result of a ship wreck. That an of ancient column dating to Solomon’s time containing largely unreadable inscriptions referring to Moses in various languages was discovered on each bank was also ignored. Halley’s Bible Handbook and a few other references recorded the discoveries, but most Bible maps and references never mention them.
The Egyptian economy was in shambles as a result of the plagues. Pharaoh and most of the Egyptian army was wiped out when the Red Sea closed on them. With no leadership and no army, Egypt was easily taken over by a relatively weak Canaanite group know as the Hyksos about 1650 BC. Neither the Bible or the Egyptian records give precise dates to these events, and the main information about the Hyksos domination comes from countries that traded with Egypt. They would remain in power until the establishment of the New Kingdom about 1550 BC.
Egypt would not again lose it’s military power until the end of the New Kingdom. After the end of the New Kingdom they embarked on numerous wars, steadily losing power and being ruled by a succession of invaders , including the Greeks and Romans. Why does it matter whether the Biblical record is accurate or not? Quite simply, if the Bible is not accurate in the historical record, the things we can verify, we have no reason to trust things which cannot be verified. Attempts top adjust the biblical record to fit scientific discoveries rather than accepting what it says casts serious doubt on it’s validity. If it is true, eventually, science will prove it.
“But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.” (Exodus 14:29-31)
A few of the Egyptian bodies washed ashore, but Israel was no longer under pressure to escape. They could take the time to prepare leavened bread from that time on. Never again would Egypt have power to control them. Any future submission to Egypt would be voluntary. It is a powerful illustration of the Christian’s deliverance from sin. The tradition that Moses wrote all the Pentateuch himself made it easy to assume the reference to the land of Ramses in Genesis 47:11 referred to the future city of Ramses, rather than the area. If it was in fact written by a contemporary writer, it could not have referred to a city that would not be built for almost eight hundred years. Accepting tradition as fact without questioning is a frequent source of error.
I would have thought that the discovery of Egyptian cart wheels under the sea where the Exodus took place would have caused a sensation! Yet it looks like that no matter how academic one may be, if one chooses not to come to the Truth, than they are willing enough to remain blind and believe a lie.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the reaction would be if the remains of Noah's ark were discovered on the slopes of Mt. Ararat?
I suspect it has been repeatedly, but covered up and ignored because the powers that be don't wish it to become known. The Jews tried to hide the story of the resurrection in Matthew 28:12-13. In Acts 4;15-21 they tried again. I don't think anything has changed.
Delete