Jesus In Exodus

Chapter 14

We are about to begin a discussion of one of the most remarkable miracles of the Old Testament. Upon deep consideration, I think it would be safe to say that, except for the work of creation itself, this is the hallmark event of the Old Testament and the history of Israel. Therefore it deserves a thorough study.

A casual reading does not reveal the importance that we can find here in this chapter. Throughout the history of Israel reference is consistently made to what God did for their ancestors at the Red Sea. And it was this spectacular event that made such an impression on the enemies of Israel.

The miracle of the Red Sea occupies a place in the Old Testament similar to the resurrection of Jesus in the New Testament. It is considered by many as the supreme example of God’s power. But first, let’s look at what preceded it.

· Exodus 14:1-4 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 "Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. 3 Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.' 4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the Israelites did this.

Here God wants Israel to depart from the path they have started on and take a different direction. They were camped before the Red Sea. Pi Hahiroth means “place of liberty”. Migdol means “fortress”. And Baal-Zephon means “Lord of the north”. In scripture “north” is frequently associated with judgment. Thus it is as the Lord of Judgment that God is seen here at the Red Sea.

Pharaoh obviously thought that the Israelites would be an easy prey since they were trapped by the desert. But this view totally ignored the God of the Israelites. God had a reason for directing the Israelites to camp by the sea. As terrible as the plagues had been on Egypt, something more was needed to humble these arrogant people. The chief part of Egypt’s glory was their army and it had not yet been touched. That was about to change!

· Exodus 14:5-9 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!" 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians--all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops--pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.

Things happened as God had told Moses they would. Pharaoh suddenly realized that their labor supply was leaving and he changed his mind about letting them go. These were the elite troops of Egypt.

· Exodus 14:10-12 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"

In their first big hour of testing the Israelites failed. They began complaining about their circumstances. After all God had done for them in Egypt, surely they could trust Him now. But how like us! No matter how many times He has delivered us in the past, our memories get short.

Here the eyes of the Israelites were on the Egyptians instead of the God who had freed them. The only cure for fear is to keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus. In this case the Israelites complained and became critical of Moses. Not unlike the disciples in the boat when the storm caused the waves to toss their boat about and they were greatly afraid. But Jesus calmed the waters. Is it unreasonable to expect more from believers?

A little logic here would have served the Israelites well. If God was going to allow them to be killed, would He have delivered them out of Egypt? Besides, God had promised them that they would worship Him in Mount Horeb. Israel had been brought into their present predicament by God Himself. It was the Pillar of Cloud which had led them to where they now camped. We must not expect the path of faith to be smooth. Faith must be tested. But why? Because we need to learn that God is sufficient.

Now notice that in verse 12 Satan is at work. The spite of Satan is manifested here just as it was in Eden. As soon as a sinner has come to Jesus, Satan is sure to begin his attack on them. Those who have been saved are faced with severe temptation. This was the issue at the Red Sea. It looked as if God had deserted the Israelites and that they would fall victim to the Egyptians.

· Exodus 14:13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.

Here is one of the great assurances in the Scriptures. Moses told the people not to be afraid. This expression recurs over and over in the Bible. But how is this to become a reality in the hearts of God’s people?

The natural reaction is for us to determine what we need to do to help ourselves out of the situation. After all, doesn’t the Lord help them who help themselves? Well, not according to the Bible. Isaiah sums it up.

· Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

The next verse in Exodus 14 is also helpful.

· Exodus 14:14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

A very important thing for us to realize at this point is that our salvation must first be seen by the eye of faith before it is seen by the sense of sight. So the Israelites were to believe what God said through Moses. They were to be still. In other words, the matter is in God’s hands. Six hundred thousand men, plus women and children, were to keep quiet. What a challenge!! But this order was designed to draw Israel’s attention away from their fears to faith in the One who was their Deliverer. There surely is a message for us today in this scenario.

· Exodus 14:15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.

This sounds like a contradiction to what we have just said, but think of it this way: Faith must be based on Divine promises and before we are ready to “go forward”, by faith we must be still and recognize that God is our salvation, and having done that we are to move forward as He leads. Remember that Abraham, by faith went out, not knowing where he was going.

· Exodus 14:16-22 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen." 19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

One of my favorite authors and commentators, Arthur Pink, believes that the Israelites first put their feet in the water and then the waters parted. His reasoning is that the Israelites went through the Red Sea by faith and that it would not have been “by faith” if the waters were divided first. This sounds reasonable except for one thing: the text gives no reason to accept that interpretation. In fact, if I had been there and saw the waters divide, I would have been easy to convince that faith in God was no problem in the face of such an amazing sight. But frankly, it would have taken greater faith on my part to walk into that dry channel with a wall of water on each side.

Now also notice that the Israelites walked through, they did not run. Here their faith in God was manifested as they crossed in an orderly manner.

(Surely there is a significant lapse of time between verses 22 and 23. The Red Sea at its narrowest point is about 6 or 7 miles across. There were conservatively 10 million people among the Israelites. Some have said that they believed that the Israelites went through the sea five abreast. If each rank of five went through in one second, which would be impossible, it would take a minimum of 23 hours for them to pass one point, not to mention travel 6 or 7 miles.) The point is that it took quite a long time for this body of people to pass through the Red Sea. Our sanctified imagination can enable us to visualize the divided waters to be fifty or one hundred feet wide, which would reduce the time required for them to pass the sea, and accommodate the army of Pharaoh.

· Exodus 14:23-28 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt." 26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen." 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen--the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

The first lesson to learn from this event is that those who attempt to do without faith, what believers do with faith, will certainly fail.

Typically the crossing of the Red Sea speaks of Jesus making a way through death for His people. The Red Sea is a figure of death, the boundary line of Satan’s power. Moses is plainly a type of Jesus, the “staff” a symbol of His power and authority. The Red Sea completely destroyed the power of Pharaoh (Satan) over God’s people. But not only did that which symbolized death have no power over Israel, but now it was a defense to them. This very sea which they at first feared, became the means of their deliverance from the Egyptians, and instead of proving to be their enemy, proves to be their friend. So if death comes to a believer before the return of Jesus it only serves to bring him into His presence.

Evangelically, the crossing of the Red Sea tells of the totality of our salvation. It is the sequel to the Passover-night and both are needed to give us a full view of what Jesus did for us. 

Doctrinally, Israel’s passage through the Red Sea and emerging safely on the other side, tells us of resurrection. Practically, the deliverance of Israel from the Red Sea illustrates the absolute sufficiency of our God. The believer may feel hemmed in on every side. A Red Sea of trouble may confront him. But we should always remember that Israel’s God is our God.

We should all be aware of:

· Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

God can protect His people in the greatest of difficulties and make a way of deliverance for them out of the most desperate situations.

Chapter 15

This chapter begins with the song of Moses and his sister Miriam. It is called the Song of Redemption.

There are two elements in redemption, redemption by purchase and by power. Redemption is different from ransoming. Ransoming is the payment of the price; redemption is the deliverance of the persons for whom the price was paid. On the Passover-night Israel was saved from the doom that came to the Egyptians. At the Red Sea they were delivered from the power of the Egyptians. Only a redeemed people, aware of their deliverance, can really praise God, their Deliverer.

· Exodus 15:1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: "I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.

Then the first question: When did they sing? And the answer is, the day when they saw the dead Egyptians on the shore. They sang. What a contrast to the hundreds of years they had just left behind. Their song was entirely about God. Notice that their song was not like most of our prayers which are about us and our needs, but was totally about their Deliverer and what He had done.

We will pass over the rest of the song of Moses, except for verse 13.

· Exodus 15:13 "In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.

While Moses and the Israelites were singing about being redeemed from Egypt and about God leading them to His dwelling, the Tabernacle, there is typical meaning here for us.

The verse says that God’s unfailing love will lead the people that He has redeemed. Those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior are the people who have been redeemed. To continue, it is God’s strength that will guide them to His holy dwelling. If God leads His redeemed to His holy dwelling, we may ask, where is His holy dwelling? The answer is heaven. My purpose here is to remind you that it is only those whom God redeems that will be with Him in heaven, and as in the case before us, He chose those that He would redeem.

· Exodus 15:22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.

When God separates a people unto Himself, it is not only necessary that the people should be redeemed with “precious blood” and then brought near to Him as worshippers, but it is also part of God’s purpose that they pass through the wilderness before they enter the promised inheritance.

This is accomplished in two ways: First, the trials and difficulties of the wilderness show us the evils in our hearts and this is so that we may be humbled. Second, inasmuch as God leads His people into the wilderness He goes with them and makes His presence and love known among them.

When all the trials and difficulties are over and when God has supplied every need, we will realize that everything is to His honor and glory. So we must conclude that God’s purpose in leading us through the wilderness is that He might prove to us that He is able to do that which is necessary to meet our needs, where we cannot.

It is their passage through the Red Sea that introduced God’s people to the wilderness. Israel’s journey through the Red Sea speaks of the believer’s union with Jesus in His death and resurrection. Typically, Israel was now on resurrection ground. The Holy Spirit has been careful to tell us that after the Israelites went through the Red Sea, they went three days into the wilderness. The three days speak of resurrection.

It is only when the believer’s faith comes to the understanding of his oneness with Jesus in His death and resurrection that he becomes conscious of the “wilderness”. To the natural man the “world” offers much that is attractive and enticing; but to the spiritual man it is all vanity. To the spiritual man the world is a wilderness.

They found no water in the wilderness. How would you like to spend your life wandering around in a wilderness? Well, that is what the natural man does. He is content to make his home there, but not the spiritual man. The world is not our home and we are just passing through it. The wilderness does not refresh the spiritual man.

· Exodus 15:23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.)

Three days journey in the hot and sandy wilderness without finding water and now they find water and it’s bitter. Isn’t that just like life! We anticipate something with such anxiety and when we find it, it is not what we thought it would be, or it’s not enough. Israel is now made to feel the bitterness of the wilderness. They were poorly prepared for what lay ahead of them. Don’t you know that they were expecting everything to be just great for them now that they were free of Pharaoh? But God had not promised any such thing.

We should point out that the first stage of their journey was to forecast the whole. In a place that rejects the truth of Jesus, what else should we expect than bitterness and disappointment? As Christians we should expect disappointment and persecution from the world.

· Exodus 15:24 So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?"

Three days ago these people were singing, now they were murmuring. Israel fails this test of their faith. They appear to have forgotten that for three days they had been led by the Holy Spirit as a pillar of Cloud and fire. Like them, every complaint against our circumstances, every grumble about the weather, about the way people treat us, or about the daily trials of life, is directed against the One who does all things according to His own plan. What was the cause of this murmuring? They had taken their eye off the One who was leading them.

· Exodus 15:25 Then Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

Moses did what Israel should have done. He took the matter to God. This is what “Marah’s” are for. They are to drive us to the Lord. You should notice that here Moses acts as mediator between the Israelites and God. The form of God’s response is particularly significant. God showed Moses a “tree”, or a piece of wood. This wood had been there all the time but Moses had not noticed it until God showed it to him. This wood, or tree, is typical of the work of Jesus on the cross, which sweetens the bitter waters of our lives. Nothing can sweeten the bitter experiences of our lives except the finished work of Jesus.

· Exodus 15:26 There the LORD made a decree and a law for them, and there he tested them. He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you."

Nothing has been said to Israel about God’s “statutes and commandments” while they were in Egypt. But now that they were redeemed, now that they had been purchased for Himself, God’s governmental claims are pressed on them. Blessings are dependent on obedience. Israel was to be immune from the diseases of Egypt only so long as they were obedient to His laws.

Keeping God’s laws has nothing to do with salvation. We can say this assuredly because this scenario shows us that the Israelites were already under the blood and had been, typically, brought through death to resurrection ground. Yet now God reminds them of His statutes and commandments. While it is true that obedience to God’s laws has nothing to do with salvation, it is a serious mistake to think that the law has no purpose. Failure to abide by God’s laws will not forfeit our salvation, but there are consequences to such behavior, as verse 26 clearly implies.

· Exodus 15:27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.

“Elim” speaks of the satisfaction which God gives to those who walk with Him in obedience. First the bitter waters of Marah were sweetened by the tree and then they were led to the wells of pure water and the palm trees for shade and refreshment. The interpretation here should be obvious: When we are walking in fellowship with God and the principles of the cross are faithfully applied to our lives, not only is the bitterness of suffering for Christ’s sake sweetened, but we experience pure joy of heart that He provides.

The joy of the heart, this satisfaction of the soul, comes to us through the ministry of the Word ---hence the significance of the twelve “wells” and the “seventy palm trees”; the very numbers Jesus selected to send His Word into the world !!!