Exodus 14 – Stand Still And Walk

The Lord told Moses to tell the children of Israel that they should camp by the sea; they should turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Midgol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon. Pharaoh would think the children of Israel are wandering around the land confused and that they are boxed in by the wilderness. Has God ever directed you in such a way that your enemies assumed that you were clueless as to how to handle their antics? The Lord said that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he would pursue the Israelites. God is doing this so that He will gain honor over Pharaoh and his army and the Egyptians will know that He is the Lord. In other words, God was letting the Egyptians know that He is in control of this situation. Verse 4 ends with the words, “And they did so.” Of course, the different commentaries indicate that this means that the Israelites camped where they were instructed in obedience to God. I also like to think that since this verse was talking about the Egyptians realizing that God is the Lord, that “And they did so” could refer to Pharaoh and his army eventually realizing Who God is and how powerful He is. When Pharaoh was told that the Israelites had fled, his heart and the hearts of his servants turned against them. They regretted letting the people go from serving them. Wow! How quickly they forgot all of the plagues, especially that 10th plague! Pharaoh got his chariot and people ready to go after the Israelites. He also took 600 choice chariots, and other chariots in Egypt with captains over them all. The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he pursued the children of Israel after they boldly left Egypt. Remember, that God is sovereign and His hardening Pharaoh’s heart is just God knowing the stubbornness of his heart, so God just allowed him to sink deeper and deeper into it. The Egyptians – Pharaoh, his horses and chariots, his horsemen and army – pursued the Israelites and caught up with them while they were camped by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. When the Israelites saw the Egyptians coming after them, they were very afraid and cried out to the Lord. They also complained to Moses saying things like, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?” They also asked Moses why he dealt with them in such a way to bring them out of Egypt. Wow! How quickly the Israelites also forgot the plagues in Egypt that did not affect them! The children of Israel also claimed that they told Moses to leave them alone and let them serve the Egyptians. How quickly they forgot also, all of the times they cried out for God to deliver them from their affliction and bondage! They even said that they would have been better off serving the Egyptians than dying in the wilderness. Have you ever remembered “the good old days” with a twisted mindset because you were facing potential adversity as you progressed in God’s deliverance? Moses told the people not to be afraid. They should stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He was going to do for them that day. He even told them that they would not see the Egyptians again forever. Moses also told them that the Lord would fight for them. All they had to do was hold their peace. Can you think of a situation in your life in which you held your peace and God fought for you? The Lord asked Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.” There’s no mention of Moses praying to the Lord in between Verse 14, where Moses tells the people that the Lord will fight for them and to hold their peace and Verse 15, where the Lord asks Moses why is he crying to Him. So, I googled. One source suggests that Moses’ heart was so engaged with God, that God who knows everything understood Moses’ sighs, desires, etc. So, when we say, “God knows my heart”, that statement is more true than we can ever imagine. Christianity.com said, “Moses’ silent prayers of faith prevailed more with God than Israel’s loud outcries of fear.” God does hear our silent prayers. God knew how Moses felt when the Israelites were expressing their anger towards him for bringing them into the wilderness to die; so they thought. God told Moses to lift up his rod, stretch out his hand over the sea and divide it. The children of Israel will walk on dry ground in the midst of the sea. This time God said that he will harden the hearts of the Egyptians and they will follow the Israelites. God already knew the Egyptians’ hearts. God again said that He would gain honor over Pharaoh, his army, his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians would know that He is the Lord when He gains this honor.

The Angel of God who went before the camp of Israel moved from in front of them to behind them. The pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. It came between the Israelites’ camp and the Egyptians’ camp. It was a cloud and darkness to one and gave light by night to the other, so that the one didn’t come near the other all that night. Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all night making the sea dry land in the divided waters. The Israelites walked on dry land with walls of water on both sides of them. The Egyptians went after them, including Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.

In the morning watch, the Lord looked down at the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and cloud and He troubled them. He took off their chariot wheels, so they had difficulty driving them. The Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.” God has gained honor over Pharaoh. Also, “And they did so” from Verse 4 (my thoughts) – the Egyptians realized that God is in control and that He is the Lord. God told Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea so that the waters would come back upon the Egyptians, their chariots and horsemen. Moses did as he was told and stretched out his hand. When the morning came, the sea returned to its depth while the Egyptians were trying to flee. The Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. The waters covered the chariots, the horsemen and all of Pharaoh’s army that went after the Israelites. Not one of them survived, but the Israelites walked on dry land in the midst of the sea with walls of water on both sides.

The Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians. Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. They saw the Lord’s great work He did in Egypt. So the Israelites feared the Lord and believed Him and His servant, Moses.

Next Week – Exodus 15

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