God Breaks Pharaoh’s Power

When Pharaoh saw the Israelites turn southward into a dead end route, he apparently concluded that God really wasn’t leading them or they should have known better than to go that way.  Perhaps all the plagues had been merely a coincidence.  He took the army after them, catching them on the beach at Nuweiba with nowhere to go.  The people panicked, sure Pharaoh was going to be very angry, as Exodus 14:10-12 tells us.  “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.” 

The people thought it would have been better to just stay slaves than to take the chance of being killed in the desert.  Moses told them to take a good look at the Egyptian army because they would never see it again, in Exodus 14:13-14.  “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.

God asked Moses why he was wasting time praying about what to do,when he already knew what God wanted in Exodus 14:15-18.  “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.”  God told Moses to lead the way and they would cross the Gulf of Aqaba on dry ground.  He also promised that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart to the point he would follow them into the sea, completely ignoring obvious danger, where God would destroy them. 

The Wadi Watir is a narrow gorge, preventing the Egyptiand from attacking in force through it.  Theo only other way to attack was by climbing over the cliffs., asnd God prevented them coming that way in Exodus 14:19-20.  “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.”  With the cloud blocking out even the stars and moon, the Egyptians were unable to see and did not dare try to scale the cliffs, but were forced to wait until daylight. 

When Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, God caused it to part and the wind began to dry the soil beneath, according to Exodus 14:21-22.  “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.”   

Some have speculated that the wind pushed back the water and froze it in a manner similar to what happens in various ice caves around the world.  There are a number of factors that indicate this was a miraculous event and not just a large scale version of the natural phenomena. First off, the wind was from the wrong side to produce such and effect, since it was an east wind.  Secondly, the water is over a thousand feet deep at this point in the Gulf of Aqaba, and about eleven miles wide, and it would be impossible for such a natural event to freeze water to such a depth in such a few hours, even if the wind were strong enough to divide the water to such a depth, and finally, it takes months after a lake is drained for the soil to dry.  For it to dry overnight is unheard of.  Whatever mechanism God may have used, it was not a natural event. 

The Egyptians were so blinded by their determination to recapture the slaves they ignored the situation they were getting into, according to Exodus 14:23-25.  “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.  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.”

It must have been like going into a deep canyon, where even a small flash flood can trap and kill people, and in this case the walls of the canyon were of water.   If anything went wrong, there would be no way to escape, but Pharaoh and the army ignored the danger.  When they got too close to the Israelites, God caused their chariot wheels to come off, slowing them down a great deal.  Suddenly they realized the danger they were in and began to try to get back to safety. 

God directed Moses to stretch out his hand again and the waters went back to their normal places, in Exodus 14:26-28.  “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.”  With a thousand feet of water crashing down on them, the Egyptians had no chance.  There were no survivors, although a few bodies washed ashore. 

God used the very thing that destroyed the Egyptian army to save Israel, as Exodus 14:29-31 reminds us.  “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.”  As a result, the Israelites believed in God’s power. 

Historical notes:  Columns dating back to the time of Solomon were found on either side of the gulf  in the late 1800’s,  Inscriptions in Hebrew, Egyptian and Arabic indicate they marked the place where Israel crossed the Red Sea.  One of the markers was later placed in the British Museum, while the other remains in its proper place.  Divers say that there are a number of Egyptian chariot wheels dating back to the seventeenth century BC lying on the sea bottom. 

Egyptian record indicate Pharaoh’s sister ascended the throne but a revolution of foreign slaves forced her to flee to Memphis.  The slaves seized power, and held for about a hundred years, during what is known as the second intermediate period.  The slaves were known as the Hyksos, or foreigners.