Exodus 13-14: “The Lord Parts The Red Sea For The Children Of Israel, But Drowns The Egyptian Army”

By

Jim Bomkamp

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1. INTRO:

1.1. In our last study, we looked at chapter 12 of the book of Exodus.

1.1.1. We looked at the all important doctrinal foundation from this book that forms all orthodox Christian theology concerning the substitutionary sacrifice and atonement of blood as symbolized by the Passover Lamb that each family in the nation of Israel was commanded to slay and eat and then pour the blood of the lamb over the doorposts and lintel of their house.

1.1.2. We saw how that Israelite’s observance of the Passover and the placing of the blood on their doorposts and lintels of their house kept away the angel of death who came over the nation of Egypt and killed the firstborn of every household.

1.1.3. In that study, we saw that there were dozens of types of Christ and the work of Christ performed upon Calvary’s cross on mankind’s behalf. We saw that you will not find a chapter of the Bible with more types of Christ, nor more importance to the salvivic teachings of the scriptures.

1.2. In our study today, we are going to look at chapters 13-14 of the book of Exodus.

1.2.1. We will look at “that defining moment in history” which the Lord provided for His people to always be able to look back upon and remember His greatness and glory: “the deliverance of Israel from Egypt and slavery through the Lord parting the Red Sea so that they could walk across, and then drowning Pharaoh and his army when the attempted to follow Israel through the Red Sea.” This event is referred to in numerous places in the Old Testament as being a time to always remember and to instruct your children about. This event is as significant and pivotal to the Old Testament as the resurrection of Christ is in the New Testament. Interestingly, the crossing of the Red Sea symbolized resurrection, going into the water symbolized dying with Christ and coming up out of the water symbolized being raised up with Christ to walk in the newness of life.

1.2.2. We will see how the Lord establishes the law of the dedication of the firstborn males of men and all animals for the Israelites because the Lord had saved the firstborn in all of Israel on that last Passover night.

1.2.3. We will see in our study how that the Lord delivers the children of Israel out of Egypt by leading them through the wilderness and then right up against the banks of the Red Sea where there would be no escape from Pharaoh’s pursuing army, except for the Lord parting the waters of the Red Sea and letting the Israelites walk through it as if they are on dry ground.

1.2.4. We will talk about how the Lord leads His people and how if they will simply stand firm and wait upon Him in the midst of their fiery trials that they will see the Lord fight on their behalf.

1.2.5. We will see that the Lord has one more way in which He will glorify Himself in the lives of the Egyptians. The Lord will destroy Pharaoh and his entire army when they chase Israel into the parted Red Sea until the Lord tells Moses to again raise his hands over the waters, which causes the raised walls of water to go back to their normal state, drowning Pharaoh and his entire army.

2. VS 13:1-2 - “¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.”” - The Lord tells Moses that every firstborn of the sons of Israel belongs to Him and must be dedicated to Him

2.1. In Genesis 3:3, we saw that the Lord had warned Adam and Eve that if they ate of the forbidden tree in the garden of Eden that they would die. When they disobeyed and ate of that tree, they brought death upon the human race in the form of “spiritual death” or separation from God, a “physical death” of the body that now occurs, and an “eternal death” or separation from God after this life.

2.2. Then, in our last study we saw that if the Israelites did not put the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts and lintels of their house that the angel of death would come over their house on that night and kill the firstborn in the house. We discussed how that this symbolizes the fact that “the wages of sin is death” and that by receiving Christ as our Lord and Savior and having His blood placed as an atonement or covering over our life that we will no longer die but receive “the free gift of eternal life” (Rom. 6:23).

2.3. Now, we see that the firstborn offspring of man and beast in Israel belongs to the Lord, and thus it must be dedicated and set apart to Him. This is to be a reminder of the fact that we all deserved to die, and that it is only by the blood of the sacrificial lamb that, in the case of Israel in our study, looks forward to what Christ would do in giving His life as a sacrifice upon the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

2.4. The dedication of the firstborn is also a symbol of the fact that on Calvary’s cross the Lord purchased our lives through His blood and that we all belong to Him and are His property and to be at His disposal with all that we have and are. This fact is expressed in many places in the New Testament, such as: 1 Corinthians 6:20, “²⁰ For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

2.5. We will see when the Law of Moses is given to the people that there will be a way given by the Lord for the Israelites to redeem their firstborn through sacrifices.

3. VS 13:3-11 - “³ Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of slavery; for by a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten. ⁴ “On this day in the month of Abib, you are about to go forth. ⁵ “It shall be when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall observe this rite in this month. ⁶ “For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. ⁷ “Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders. ⁸ “You shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹ “And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ “Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year. ¹¹ “Now when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you,” - Moses tells the people to remember this day that they are leaving Egypt and the house of slavery because it is the Lord’s ‘powerful hand’ that has brought them out, then he continues to expound upon the fact that they are not to be eating anything leavened for the seven days leading up to the yearly Passover feast

3.1. In the scriptures, we see that the Lord will remind the children of Israel over and over to remember this time in the history of the country when He delivered them from slavery and Egypt by His ‘powerful hand.’

3.2. Note that Moses reminds the people of God’s intention of bringing them into their promised possession: ‘the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite and the Jebusite.’

3.3. Moses tells the children of Israel that they are to tell their son on that day when they are removing the leaven from their houses that ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ Further, it was to ‘serve as a sign’ to them on their hand and forehead. This indicates that they were to somehow place a reminder to themselves of these things on their hand and forehead.

3.4. Moses tells the people that they were to ‘keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year.’

4. VS 13:12-16 - ‘¹² you shall devote to the Lord the first offspring of every womb, and the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to the Lord. ¹³ “But every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. ¹⁴ “And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ¹⁵ ‘It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ ¹⁶ “So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”’ - Moses tells the people that they are to devote to the Lord the firstborn of every womb that they own, the males that is, but they can redeem a donkey and the offspring of a man by sacrifice, and whenever their son asks them why they are doing this then they are to tell him that it is because with a powerful hand the Lord had brought them out of Egypt and from the house of slavery

4.1. Here, Moses tells the children of Israel that they are to devote to the Lord the firstborn males of ‘every beast’ and if they chose not to redeem a donkey they were to ‘break its neck’ and offer it as a sacrifice. What could be offered to redeem a firstborn male donkey was ‘a lamb.’

4.2. Likewise, they were to redeem every firstborn of their sons, which likewise could be redeemed with the sacrifice to the Lord of ‘a lamb.’

4.3. In the New Testament we see that in obedience to this command the Pharisees would place phylacteries on their foreheads which contained the Law of Moses, and this was in fulfillment of this very requirement of the children of Israel by Moses. A sign was to be placed on their hands, and a phylactery was to be placed on their heads.

5. VS 13:17-18 - “¹⁷ Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” ¹⁸ Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt.” - The Lord did not lead the people through the land of the Philistines since if they saw that they would have to fight that they might return to Egypt, instead He led them by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea

5.1. So, God is leading the children of Israel up and out of Egypt, and here we begin to see some of God’s wisdom and plans being enfolded to them. God realizes how weak the faith of the Israelites is and He does not want them to be discouraged. He knows that if they were to go north around the Red Sea and through the land of the Philistines, that the Philistines will rise up against them in war. He knows also that He could conquer the Philistines on Israel’s part. But, He fears that if faced with fighting the Philistines that they do not have the faith to trust Him in the midst of such a heavy trial.

5.2. Psalm 103:13-14 tells us that the Lord is mindful of the weakness of our human frame, “Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.” The Lord knows what we can handle and what would be too much for us. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that we will not be tempted beyond what we are able to endure: “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”

5.3. Whenever people begin to serve the Lord, the Devil is going to immediately try to discourage them and get them to turn back from serving God. The Lord allows spiritual warfare into our lives as His children, and new Christians many times are thrown for a loop when they encounter major resistance to their faith and doing God’s will. This is because they are just learning about the fact that they are in a war and that they have an adversary and will now have to wag spiritual warfare for the rest of their time on earth.

5.4. The Lord leads the Israelites right dead center to the banks of the Red Sea. Here, Pharaoh’s army will soon find them and with no route of escape the Israelites will have no other choice but to trust the Lord to save them. The Lord will part the Red Sea, and then drown the pursuing Egyptian army, and then, the Israelites will be able to flee Egypt.

5.4.1. Many times when we pray to the Lord, He leads us right to the banks of the Red Sea so that with our backs up against the wall that we will have to completely put our trust in Him to deliver us. Then, when He answers our prayers we know that it was only the Lord who has delivered us. Thus, our faith in the Lord is strengthened.

6. VS 13:19-22 - “¹⁹ Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.” ²⁰ Then they set out from Succoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness. ²¹ The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. ²² He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.” - Moses took the bones of Joseph with him as he headed out of Egypt, and the people went from Succoth to Etham, and the Lord was going before them in a pillar cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night

6.1. Joseph was such a great patriarch and man of character, perseverance, and faith. He had been the man through whom the Lord saved the entire nation. Thus, he was Israel’s venerated hero. Before Joseph died, he made the sons of Israel promise to return his bones to the land of Canaan, for he wanted to be buried in the land of promise. Moses was fulfilling the promise the sons of Israel made to Joseph by carrying out Joseph’s bones with him.

6.1.1. Since Joseph was a type of Christ, Arthur Pink suggests that the Israelites carrying of the bones of Joseph out of Egypt is symbolic of the fact that for the believer in Christ that we are always carrying about in our bodies the dying of Jesus Christ that the life of Him may also be manifest in us (see 2 Cor. 4:10).

6.2. The means that the Lord used to lead and direct the children of Israel is quite amazing. During the day He always appeared to them as a pillar of a cloud, but in the evening He always led them with a pillar of fire to give them light so ‘that they might travel by day and by night.’

6.3. The ‘pillar of cloud’ and ‘pillar of fire’ by which the Lord continually led the children of Israel symbolizes the indwelling Holy Spirit whom the Lord places in every believer in Christ, and through whom He leads His people. God’s manifest presence always remains in His children, and through the Holy Spirit He leads, guides, and teaches us:

6.3.1. John 16:7, “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”

6.3.2. John 15:26, “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me.”

6.3.3. John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

6.3.4. John 14:16, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.”

6.3.5. Romans 8:14, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

6.4. Arthur Pink has written the following about the symbolism of the Holy Spirit in this passage: “By day or by night Israel was “thoroughly furnished.” For a similar purpose is the Holy Spirit given to Christians. He is “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord (Isa. 11:2).”

7. VS 14:1-4 - “¹ Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea. ³ “For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ ⁴ “Thus I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.” - The Lord tells Moses where the children of Israel are to camp by the sea, and then He tells him that Pharaoh will suddenly realize that the children of Israel are trapped and then he will chase after them, and through him and his army the Egyptians will know that He is the Lord

7.1. This picture is from a Ron Wyatt web site and shows what his archeological finds show was the route that the Israelites went in crossing the Red Sea (at the Gulf of Aquba on the north side of the Red Sea), and also the correct location of Mt. Sinai. Although most of Ron Wyatt’s many archeological claims have since been disputed, a few other credible sources have come to the same conclusions concerning the location of the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites.

7.2. From the same Ron Wyatt web site, it states the following about a natural sort of underwater bridge exists at Nuweiba that would allow the children of Israel to walk across much more easily:

THE Gulf  of Aqaba is very deep, in places over a mile (1,600m) deep. Even with the sea dried up, walking across would be difficult due to the  steep grade down the sides. But there is one spot where if the water  were removed, it would be an easy descent for people and animals.  This is the line between Nuweiba and the opposite shore in Saudi Arabia.   

Depth-sounding  expeditions have revealed a smooth, gentle slope descending from  Nuweiba out into the Gulf. This shows up almost like a pathway on depth-recording equipment, confirming it's Biblical description  "...a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters." (Isaiah  43:16).

7.3. Note here that the Lord tells Moses that He knows that Pharaoh and the Egyptians would see the Israelites wandering around and then trapped by the Red Sea, and thus the Egyptians would suddenly change their minds and begin to chase Israel and force them to return. The reason that the Lord said that He would do this is: “and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord”

8. VS 14:5-9 - “⁵ When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” ⁶ So he made his chariot ready and took his people with him; ⁷ and he took six hundred select chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. ⁸ The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out boldly. ⁹ Then the Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.” - The king of Egypt is told that the children of Israel had fled, and he and his servants had a change of heart and decide to chase after the children of Israel with 600 chariots and as well as other chariots of the officers of his army, and they chased them down to where Israel was camped

8.1. Pharaoh was told that the Israelites had fled during the night, and then the same servants that told him to let the Israelites leave, now regret that they have let their slave labor leave. They say, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”

8.2. Pharaoh gets 600 chariots, and his entire army, and they go and begin to chase after Israel. In fact we see that along with this group also went ‘all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.’

8.3. Note here that the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, causing him to chase after the sons of Israel.

8.4. Pharaoh and all of his army chased after Israel and they finally came upon them as they were camping beside the Red Sea, ‘beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.’

9. VS 14:10-14 - “¹⁰ As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² “Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” ¹³ But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. ¹⁴ “The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.”” - When the sons of Israel see the Egyptians marching after them they become frightened and begin to cry out to the Lord and carp to Moses for having brought them out of the land of Egypt in order to die in the wilderness, but Moses tells them to stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord

9.1. As Pharaoh and his army drew near to Israel, the sons of Israel ‘became very frightened.’ This drove them to the Lord however, for it says ‘the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord.’

9.2. The faith of the Israelites falters here as we see them begin to cry out to Moses as they say the following: ‘Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² “Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.’

9.3. Many times my wife and I have brought this passage to our minds when we have wondered what in the world was going to happen in our life now that we had stepped out to plant a church and were going through fiery trials and uncharted waters. We have had the Lord comfort us by revealing to us that just as He did not bring the children of Israel out of Egypt into the wilderness to kill them, that in the same way He would part the waters or open some way for us to cross through that trial that we were going through. God took the children of Israel out of Egypt because He was also planning to bring through the Red Sea.

9.4. Moses wisely tells the children of Israel to “stand still and see” what God was going to do on their behalf. Oh, how important it is for God’s people to stand firm through the trials and temptations that we go through.

9.5. Moses tells the children of Israel that they will never see these Egyptians again, for the Lord will fight for them while they keep silent.

10. VS 14:15-18 - “¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. ¹⁶ “As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land. ¹⁷ “As for Me, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. ¹⁸ “Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen.”” - The Lord asks Moses why he is crying out to the Lord, and that he is to tell the sons of Israel to go forward, and finally he is to stretch out his hand over the sea and divide it, and then the children of Israel shall go through as on dry land, but the Lord will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after then, and then the Lord will be honored through Pharaoh and the Egyptian army

10.1. The Lord is not angry against Moses for crying out to him, yet once again He asks Moses why he is crying out to the Lord. The Lord tells Moses that instead of crying out he simply needs to move forward and let the Lord lead him and the children of Israel to the next step in God’s plans for them.

10.1.1.We Christians need to learn from this that in spite of any of the trials we face that we simply need to trust to God to guide us one step at a time and learn to wait upon him.

10.2. Notice here that not only does the Lord harden Pharaoh’s heart, He also hardens the hearts of the entire Egyptian army so that they follow the children of Israel into the Red Sea.

10.3. The Lord says that He will be honored by Pharaoh through his chariots and horsemen, and this means through the death of Pharaoh and his army.

11. VS 14:19-20 - “¹⁹ The angel of God, who had been 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 So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night. Thus the one did not come near the other all night.” - The angel of the Lord moved and went behind them and the pillar of cloud moved from before them to behind them, and thus it produced darkness in the camp of Egypt and light for Israel, and, thus the two groups did not come near each other all night

11.1. The angel of the Lord now moved between Israel and the Egyptians, causing by night a supernatural darkness over the Egyptians and a supernatural light for the Israelites.

11.2. The supernatural darkness over the Egyptians confused and bewildered them and they were not able to go forward and overtake the Israelites.

12. VS 14:21-22 - “²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided. ²² The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.” - Moses stretches out his hand over the sea and the Lord raises up a strong east wind causing the water to pile up on both sides, and it blows all night until by morning the land was dry, and the sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea as if it was dry land

12.1. As the sons of Israel rested through the night, a miraculous east wind blew and dried up the land so that the children of Israel could walk across as if they were walking on dry land.

12.2. The waters of the Red Sea stood up just like a wall on their right and left side.

13. VS 14:23-28 - “²³ Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea. ²⁴ At the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion. ²⁵ He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.” ²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.” ²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. ²⁸ The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained.” - When the Egyptian army saw that Israel had crossed the Red Sea as the Lord was holding up the walls of the water on both sides they drove their chariots into the Red Sea, but the Lord brought about confusion and their chariot wheels swerved and wouldn’t drive right, and then the army tried to flee out of the water, but the Lord told Moses to stretch out his hand over the waters again, which he did, and the waters return to their normal state and the entire Egyptian army drowned

13.1. The Lord deals with Pharaoh and his army here in the dry bed of the Red Sea. The charioteers can’t seem to drive straight, their wheels don’t seem to turn and maneuver correctly, and the army suddenly realizes that they are fighting with the Lord and are not going to succeed.

13.2. As soon as Pharaoh and his army sound a call to retreat the Lord tells Moses to again spread out his hand over the sea so that the waters might come over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen, and so he does. The waters return to their normal state and the heavy armor of the Egyptians and their horses causes them to sink right down to the bottom of the Red Sea where they drown.

13.3. Not one of the army of Pharaoh is spared, and thus the Lord was honored and glorified by the Egyptians on this day.

14. VS 14:29-31 - “²⁹ But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. ³⁰ Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹ When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses.” - When the sons of Israel saw the great power of the Lord that He used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in Him and in His servant Moses

14.1. Egypt symbolizes the world and worldliness, Pharaoh symbolizes Satan who tries to hinder people from coming to Christ, deliverance from Egypt symbolizes coming to salvation, the crossing through the Red Sea symbolizes our old self dying with Christ upon the cross of Calvary, and the walking up out of the waters symbolizes our being raised up to walk in the resurrection life of Christ.

14.2. The children of Israel are dramatically affected by seeing God’s power in not only causing them to be able to walk through the Red Sea as on dry ground, but also seeing Pharaoh and his entire army drowned in the sea. We see here that thus the children of Israel ‘feared the Lord and they believed in the Lord.’

14.3. Notice here that the children of Israel have also now come to believe in Moses and the Lord’s calling in his life as the deliverer and leader of the nation.

14.4. Arthur Pink has written the following: “At last was fulfilled the promise made by Jehovah to Abraham more than four hundred years before. He had said, “Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years (Gen. 15:13) Literally had this been fulfilled. The experiences of Abraham’s seed in Egypt was precisely as God had said. But He had also declared to Abraham, “And also that nation whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward they shall come out with great substance (Gen. 15:14). This, too, was now made good.”

14.5. Over and over again as if this were the defining moment in history to the Lord, the scriptures point God’s people to look back and consider the incredible things that the Lord did in delivering His people from Egypt and slavery, and in bringing them across the Red Sea while drowning Pharaoh and his army, including:

14.5.1.Isaiah 51:15: “But I am the Lord your God, Who divided the sea whose waves roared— The Lord of hosts is His name.”

14.5.2.Nahum 1:3-4, “The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord has His way In the whirlwind and in the storm, And the clouds are the dust of His feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, And dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither, And the flower of Lebanon wilts.”

14.6. We would expect at this point that the children of Israel had now learned their lesson of faith and that they no longer would question the Lord nor speak derogatorily against Moses, but we will see that this was only the beginning of their learning the lessons of faith, and they will fail the Lord over and over during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.

14.7. We will see that as the children of Israel are wandering in the wilderness for the next 40 years that the Lord will always lead them with the pillar of cloud and of fire and that in the quiet of the wilderness the Lord will give them His law and begin to teach and discipline them into walking in His ways as they experience trials, adversity, and testings along the way. This wilderness experience parallels our experience and walk as Christians in this world.

15. CONCLUSIONS:

15.1. Remember that God knows your weaknesses and limitations and that you are but flesh. He will never give you more than you can handle.

15.2. Just as He led the Israelites by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, the Lord will lead you by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

15.3. Do you realize that the Lord has not brought you out of your Egypt in order to kill you in the wilderness?

15.4. Remember to stand firm in the midst of trials and testings so that you can see how the Lord will magnificently deliver you.

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