Just Trusting Enough To Obey

 God had led the Israelites to exactly the place where he wanted them, and both they and the Egyptians thought they were trapped.  Moses encouraged them to trust God but they could see no possible escape, and had given up hope.   It was at this point God intervened, as Exodus 14:19-20 describes.  “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.”

 

Unable to see anything, the Egyptians were forced to move very cautiously to avoid crashing their chariots into each other or the rocks along the trail, or possibly running off into the Gulf of Aqaba.  The fire on their side enabled the Israelites to see and travel much faster.  God then opend a path to escape through the sea, as described in 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.” 

 

This is a powerful illustration of the promise in I Corinthians 10:13.  “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”   There was no way an inexperienced and untrained mob of Israelites could escape or defeat a well-equipped and experienced Egyptian army, but God provided a way.  According to what I have read, at that point, the Gulf of Aqaba is over a thousand feet deep and eleven miles wide.  Even for the soil to dry enough overnight for them to walk on it is miraculous.   

 

The Israelites were able to see, and walked safely into the sea trusting God to save them.  Moving much more slowly because they were unable to see, the Egyptians followed them into the sea. By the morning watch, between three and six am, the Egyptian army was in the middle of the sea, as we see in 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.” 

 

Until it began to get light, the Egyptians had probably not realized where they were, assuming they were still in the canyon.  As it began to get light, and God caused wheels to fall off their chariots, they realized they were in a very dangerous position and tried to turn back to safety.   Israel had already reached the other shore, and God caused the water to come back together as it normally would, 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.”  Crushed by five hundred pounds of water pressure, the Egyptians had no chance to escape though some of the bodies were washed ashore. 

 

From what I have read, the water on either side of where Israel crossed was much deeper than it was on either side.  The walls of water kept them from drifting too far either way, as we see in Exodus 14:29-31.  “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.”  God had used the same water that protected and guided Israel to destroy the Egyptians.   Not only had they escaped slavery, they would never again have to worry about being enslaved by the Egyptians.  All they had to do was just trust God enough to obey him.