The document explores the biblical account of the Israelites' miraculous passage through the Red Sea and the subsequent destruction of Pharaoh's army. It emphasizes the theological significance of this event as a divine act, marking the birth of Israel as a nation and foreshadowing Christian salvation through parallels drawn between Moses and Christ. The text also addresses various critical perspectives on the narrative's sources and unity, affirming the authenticity and divine orchestration behind the Exodus story.

1. EXODUS 14 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
I TRODUCTIO
COFFMA , "Introduction
This great chapter records the event of the passage of the Red Sea by the children of
Israel and the overthrow of Pharaoh and his chariots on the same day. Asimov's
concise statement of what happened here is: "The waters of the Red Sea
miraculously parted for them, and then returned in time to drown the pursuing
Egyptians."[1] The place where this great wonder occurred cannot now be
accurately determined. It is evident that it took place opposite the place called Pi-
hahiroth, but that tells us nothing, since nobody knows where that place was.
Again, with Asimov, we may eliminate the main body of the Red Sea proper, some
150 miles in width and more than a mile deep, because, if Israel had crossed that,
they would have crossed on to the main portion of the Arabian peninsula, a thing
which they evidently did not do. All of their subsequent activity is represented in the
holy text as being in the Sinai Peninsula, and that is separated from Egypt by the
northwestern extension of the Red Sea now known as the Gulf of Suez. "There is
little doubt that at the time of the exodus the Gulf of Suez extended much further
north than it does now, and that the modern Lake Timsah and the Bitter Lakes
were connected with each other and with the Gulf of Suez."[2] If there was any
portion of that extension called the "Reed Sea," it also would have been, like the
whole extension, a portion of the Red Sea, fully justifying the ancient designation for
the body of water that they crossed. That it was not merely a "swampland" as
affirmed by critics is certain, being proved by the facts: (1) that Pharaoh considered
it impassable; (2) that the Israelites themselves considered their position hopeless;
(3) that the normal strength (or depth) of the waters was sufficient to drown
Pharaoh's army; and (4) that it is unequivocally represented in the Bible as a
sovereign act of Almighty God that enabled Israel to cross.
The employment of secondary and natural forces in this wonder is fully witnessed
by the Word itself. A mighty east wind blew all night. According to Psalms 77:17-20,
there were also employed other natural forces including: (1) a violent storm; (2)
thunders and lightnings; and (3) an earthquake. In very recent history, an
earthquake caused the Mississippi river to flow northward for about 24 hours,
resulting in the creation of Reelfoot Lake. However, we do not for one moment
accept any of the natural forces that were connected with this Deliverance as being
in any manner the explanation. We are here dealing with a miracle. It is
encouraging that even some of the very critical scholars see this. The sacred author
is here, "clearly speaking of a divine miracle," and it is extremely questionable

2. whether it is "appropriate to look for a `natural parallel' for the events he
describes."[3] oth also stated that when the author of Exodus mentioned the
"clogging" or "breaking" or "removal" of the chariot wheels, "a further
inexplicable divine act was the reason why!"[4]
In this chapter introduction is also an appropriate place to note the usual critical
allegations regarding "prior sources." Canon George Harford analyzed the passage
by splitting it into fragments attributed to J, E, P, J, Jr, E, P, E, P, J, J, J, J, P, J, P,
J, J, and Rje! o scholar ever known agreed with that! However, he did state one
extremely important thing:
"The escape of the Israelites from the Egyptians, by passing dryshod over the water
barrier that seemed to hem them in, is unanimously presented by all the
narrators!"[5]
This admitted unity of the so-called various sources on so important an event is an
overwhelming testimony that the alleged sources themselves are unified, not merely
in their alleged divisions, but also, with the whole of the Pentateuch.
The great significance of this Red Sea passage applies both to Israel and to
Christianity.
FOR ISRAEL
"That victory at the Red Sea was the birth of a nation."[6]
It was the defeat of their enemy.
It was their entry into a new way of life.
It separated them irrevocably from slavery in Egypt.
It confirmed them in their belief in God.
It confirmed them in their belief in Moses.
It was God's initiation of a chain of events that, in time, would deliver the Messiah
to mankind.
It was the triumph of monotheism over paganism.
It was the establishment of a type that would be fulfilled, in the future, by the
salvation of every person.
The Red Sea destroyed and disarmed Egypt.
The Red Sea saved and armed Israel.

3. Only those who crossed over to Moses were delivered.
Until they crossed over, they were still in the domain of and subject to their enemy
Pharaoh.
THE GRA D A ALOGY
As DeHoff said, "The story of the Israelites and their journey from Egypt to Canaan
is a type of our journey from the Egypt of sin into the everlasting Canaan."[7]
Egypt is a type of sin and bondage in the service of Satan.
Pharaoh is a type of Satan.
God's sending Moses to deliver Israel is a type of God's sending Christ to deliver
Christians.
Moses is a remarkable type of Christ in scores of particulars.
The compromises that Pharaoh suggested are exactly those that Satan employs to
dissuade would-be Christians (See under Exodus 8:28).
Israel's crossing the Red Sea represents the Christian's baptism into Christ (1
Corinthians 10:1-10).
Israel's entering the wilderness is a figure of the Christian's probation in the
church.
The wilderness is a type of the church.
That Israel sinned and that many of them did not enter Canaan is a warning that all
"Christians" may not enter heaven.
Canaan is a type of heaven.
The Jordan river is a type of death.
Some of the Israelites at last entering Canaan is a type of the ultimate redemption
and eternal bliss of the faithful.
These citations are merely the fringes of that extensive fabric of type and antitype
extending throughout Exodus. Another extensive area of this was cited under
Exodus 12:51, regarding the Passover lamb as a type of Christ. There will be other
very extensive analogies regarding the tabernacle and many of the things pertaining
to it and its related services. It is ALL THIS that defies any rationalistic view of

4. Exodus. The hand of the eternal God is in every line of it, and there cannot be any
intelligent way to explain ALL THIS as the result of fraud, caprice, pseudonymous
writings, prior sources such as the alleged sources of the Pentateuch, or as resulting
from the "post eventum" interpolation of a self-seeking priesthood. In particular,
the Israelite priesthood was incapable spiritually of having conceived any of these
remarkable events in Exodus. o! We stand right here at the kernel and the center
of God's revealed religion.
Therefore, we shall waste no further time with the skeptical and detrimental
postulations directed at this glorious chapter. Let us behold the Sacred Text itself!
PETT, "Introduction
Yahweh Leads His People Out Of Egypt In Triumph (Exodus 13:17 to Exodus
14:31).
The acknowledgement of Yahweh’s initial deliverance having been dealt with the
narrative now moves on to the escape from Egypt. There is again a clear chiastic
pattern:
a Yahweh leads His people out of Egypt (Exodus 13:17-19).
b The pillar of cloud and fire accompanies them (Exodus 13:20-22).
c Yahweh tells Moses that Pharaoh will think that they are at his mercy and
declares that He will get Himself honour over Pharaoh (Exodus 14:1-4).
d The Egyptians say, ‘Why have we let Israel go from slaving for us?’ (Exodus
14:5).
e Pharaoh makes ready his chariot forces and takes them forward (Exodus
14:6-7).
f Pharaoh pursues the children of Israel (Exodus 14:8).
f The Egyptians pursue the children of Israel and get them in their sights
(Exodus 14:9).
e The children of Israel lift up their eyes and see the forces of Pharaoh (Exodus
14:10).
d Israel cry out with a willingness to slave for the Egyptians (Exodus 14:11-12).
c Pharaoh will be proved wrong, the salvation of Yahweh will be revealed, the
Egyptians will be seen no more and Yahweh will get Himself honour over Pharaoh
and his forces (Exodus 14:13-18).
b The pillar of cloud and fire stands between Israel and Pharaoh as a
protection against the Egyptians while Moses opens the sea before them (Exodus
14:19-22).
a Yahweh leads Israel triumphantly out of Egypt and the forces of Pharaoh
are destroyed (Exodus 14:23-31).
The parallels are clear and powerful. In ‘a’ Yahweh leads His people out of Egypt
and in the parallel we have the vivid description of how He finally did it. In ‘b’ He
accompanies them with the pillar of cloud and fire and in the parallel it protects
them from the Egyptians. In ‘c’ Yahweh says that He will get Himself honour over
Pharaoh and in the parallel He does so. In ‘d’ the Egyptians bemoan losing their

5. slaves, and in the parallel the slaves in fear indicate their willingness to return, a
deliberate contrast with the triumph of the whole passage, confirming that the
deliverance was in no way due to faltering Israel. In ‘e’ Pharaoh makes ready his
chariot forces and takes them forward, and in the parallel Israel see them coming.
In ‘f’ the pursuit begins and in the parallel Pharaoh gets Israel in his sights.
1 Then the Lord said to Moses,
GILL, "And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... Out of the pillar of the cloud in which
he went before them; either while they were at Etham, or when journeying from thence,
and a little before they turned off to the right, as they were now directed:
saying; as follows:
HE RY 1-4, " Instructions given to Moses concerning Israel's motions and
encampments, which were so very surprising that if Moses had not express orders about
them before they would scarcely have been persuaded to follow the pillar of cloud and
fire. That therefore there might be no scruple nor dissatisfaction about it, Moses is told
before, 1. Whither they must go, Exo_14:1, Exo_14:2. They had got to the edge of the
wilderness (Exo_13:20), and a stage or two more would have brought them to Horeb,
the place appointed for their serving God; but, instead of going forward, they are
ordered to turn short off, on the right hand from Canaan, and to march towards the Red
Sea. Where they were, at Etham, there was no sea in their way to obstruct their passage:
but God himself orders them into straits, which might give them an assurance that when
his purposes were served he would without fail bring them out of those straits. Note,
God sometimes raises difficulties in the way of the salvation of his people, that he may
have the glory of subduing them, and helping his people over them. 2. What God
designed in these strange orders. Moses would have yielded an implicit obedience,
though God had given him no reason; but shall he hide from Moses the thing that he
does? No, Moses shall know, (1.) That Pharaoh has a design to ruin Israel, Exo_14:3. (2.)
That therefore God has a design to ruin Pharaoh, and he takes this way to effect it, Exo_
14:4. Pharaoh's sagacity would conclude that Israel was entangled in the wilderness and
so would become an easy prey to him; and, that he might be the more apt to think so,
God orders them into yet greater entanglements; also, by turning them so much out of
their road, he amazes him yet more, and gives him further occasion to suppose that they
were in a state of embarrassment and danger. And thus (says God) I will be honoured
upon Pharaoh. Note, [1.] All men being made for the honour of their Maker, those
whom he is not honoured by he will be honoured upon. [2.] What seems to tend to the

6. church's ruin is often overruled to the ruin of the church's enemies, whose pride and
malice are fed by Providence, that they may be ripened for destruction.
JAMISO , "Exo_14:1-31. God instructs the Israelites as to their journey.
K&D, "Passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea; Destruction of Pharaoh and His
Army. - Exo_14:1, Exo_14:2. At Etham God commanded the Israelites to turn (‫)שׁוּב‬ and
encamp by the sea, before Pihachiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baalzephon,
opposite to it. In Num_33:7, the march is described thus: on leaving Etham they turned
up to (‫ל‬ ַ‫)ע‬ Pihachiroth, which is before (‫י‬ֵ‫נ‬ ְ ‫ל־‬ ַ‫(ע‬ e in the front of) Baalzephon, and
encamped before Migdol. The only one of these places that can be determined with any
certainty is Pihachiroth, or Hachiroth (Num_33:8, pi being simply the Egyptian article),
which name has undoubtedly been preserved in the Ajrud mentioned by Edrisi in the
middle of the twelfth century. At present this is simply a fort, which a well 250 feet deep,
the water of which is so bitter, however, that camels can hardly drink it. It stands on the
pilgrim road from Kahira to Mecca, four hours' journey to the north-west of Suez (vid.,
Robinson, Pal. i. p. 65). A plain, nearly ten miles long and about as many broad,
stretches from Ajrud to the sea to the west of Suez, and from the foot of Atâkah to the
arm of the sea on the north of Suez (Robinson, Pal. i. 65). This plain most probably
served the Israelites as a place of encampment, so that they encamped before, i.e., to the
east of, Ajrud towards the sea. The other places just also be sought in the neighbourhood
of Hachiroth (Ajrud), though no traces of them have been discovered yet. Migdol cannot
be the Migdol twelve Roman miles to the south of Pelusium, which formed the north-
eastern boundary of Egypt (Eze_29:10), for according to Num_33:7, Israel encamped
before Migdol; nor is it to be sought for in the hill and mountain-pass called Montala by
Burckhardt, el Muntala by Robinson (pp. 63, 64), two hours' journey to the northwest
of Ajrud, as Knobel supposes, for this hill lies too far to the west, and when looked at
from the sea is almost behind Ajrud; so that the expression “encamping before Migdol”
does not suit this situation, not to mention the fact that a tower (‫ל‬ ָ ְ‫ג‬ ִ‫)מ‬ does not indicate a
watch-tower (‫ה‬ ֶ ְ‫צ‬ ִ‫.)מ‬ Migdol was probably to the south of Ajrud, on one of the heights of
the Atâkah, and near it, though more to the south-east, Baalzephon (locus Typhonis),
which Michaelis and Forster suppose to be Heroopolis, whilst Knobel places it on the
eastern shore, and others to the south of Hachiroth. If Israel therefore did not go
straight into the desert from Etham, on the border of the desert, but went southwards
into the plain of Suez, to the west of the head of the Red Sea, they were obliged to bend
round, i.e., “to turn” from the road they had taken first. The distance from Etham to the
place of encampment at Hachiroth must be at least a six hours' journey (a tolerable day's
journey, therefore, for a whole nation), as the road from Suez to Ajrud takes four hours
(Robinson, i. p. 66).
CALVI , "1.And the Lord spoke unto Moses. God, by closing up all the ways by
which the Israelites might have escaped, now opens a course for His wonderful
power, and by bringing them for one moment to despair, provided for the safety of
His Church through a long period of time. This final act, then, marvelously
illustrated the grace of God, so that the people, however ungrateful and disaffected
they might be, should still acknowledge God as their deliverer; besides, its

7. consequence was, that the forces of Egypt not only being broken, but the whole
nation being destroyed, or, at least, the flower of it extinguished, it brought no
further trouble upon the people until they were established in the land of Canaan. If
they had freely and peacefully gone forth, with the king and the people of Egypt
quiet, the former miracles would not have sufficiently availed to testify their
redemption; but when, being everywhere shut in, they see nothing but death before
them, whilst the sea suddenly and unexpectedly affords them a passage, and
overwhelms their enemies pressing on them from behind, they are obliged to confess
that they were not only saved from death but from the deepest abysses by the hand
of God. But it appears that, when they were commanded by Moses to cast
themselves, and, as it were, to ingulf themselves in the narrow passage, of which
mention is made, they were astonished by the miracles, and like them that dream,
since they obeyed without hesitation, although the very aspect of the place must
have inspired them with horror. For, if they had apprehended danger, their
readiness to obey would not have been so great, as we shall presently see. Wherefore
it was the intention of Moses not so much to praise them, as the providence of God.
For it is plain, that unless they had been amazed by the miracles, of which they had
seen so many, they scarcely could have been induced willingly to throw themselves
into. defiles from whence there was no retreat. From the word ‫,מגדל‬ migdol, we may
conjecture that a fortress was built on the rock to prevent access to it. I do not quite
understand the meaning of ‫החירת‬)151 ) hachiroth, nor do I see why the Greeks
should have translated it “the mouth of the valley;” yet from the word signifying “a
mouth,” it may be probably conjectured that it was contracted by piles. Because the
word ‫,חור‬ chor, signifies a cave or hole, I know not whether the place might not have
obtained its name, as the mouth of the holes or caverns; for the letter ‫,ו‬ vau, is often
converted into ‫,י‬ yod, and the change of the gender in the plural number is frequent
with the Hebrews. Or perhaps some may think it more likely, that though it was
written ‫,החירות‬ hachiroth, the letter ‫ח‬ crept in in place of ‫ה‬ from its similarity. If we
so take it, the feminine gender is put for the masculine, and it will be “the mouth of
the mountains.” But although we may be ignorant of the etymology of the second
word, the word “mouth” makes it certain that the defile was inclosed by rocks, and
of narrow access. Although, if I may tender my own judgment in a doubtful matter,
I rather consider that it is derived from the word ‫חרת‬ charath, which means to
engrave, or to furrow, because the rocks were cut as by a mallet. But on the opposite
side, the place was surrounded by the sea, as though the Israelites had been cast into
a sepulcher.
BE SO , "Verse 1-2
Exodus 14:1-2. The Lord spake — Or rather had spoken, before they came to
Succoth, Exodus 12:37. For what was there briefly and generally expressed, is here
more largely and particularly declared, together with the occasion of it, which was
God’s command. Speak unto the children of Israel — They were got to the edge of
the wilderness, Exodus 13:20, and one stage or two would have brought them to
Horeb, the place appointed for their serving God; but, instead of going forward,
they are ordered to turn short off on the right hand from Canaan, and to march
toward the Red sea. When they were at Etham, there was no sea in their way to

8. obstruct their passage; but God himself orders them into straits, which might give
them an assurance, that when his purposes were served, he would bring them out of
those straits. Before Pi-hahiroth — Or, the straits of Hiroth, two great mountains,
between which they marched. Migdol and Baal-zephon were cities of Egypt, and
probably garrisoned.
COFFMA , "Verses 1-4
"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that
they turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before
Baal-zephon: over against it shall ye encamp by the sea. And Pharaoh will say of the
children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.
And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he shall follow after them; and I will get me
honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am
Jehovah. And they did so."
All of the place names, not merely here, but in Exodus 14:9 as well, are impossible of
any certain identification as to exactly where they were. "These cannot be surely
identified."[8] evertheless, the strategy is clear enough. God deliberately ordered
Moses to signal confusion and uncertainty to Pharaoh by changing directions and
taking up a very vulnerable position "by the sea." That this was merely some kind
of a marshy swamp is ridiculous! The judgment of Pharaoh as to the vulnerability
of Israel proves this. From the human viewpoint, it did appear that Israel was
trapped, hemmed in by mountains on either side and a formidable arm of the Gulf
of Suez in front of them, and Pharaoh would promptly supply the rest of the trap
himself (so he thought) by moving in to their rear with a well-equipped army!
"And I will get me honor upon Pharaoh ..." God was not through with this evil man,
but in one more judgment would meet out to him the punishment that he deserved.
He had thrown infant children in the waters. Very well, God would cast him and his
army into the sea! He had promised again and again to let the people go, but he
never had any determined intention of doing so. This time he will indeed let the
people go!
CO STABLE, "Verses 1-4
2. Israel"s passage through the Red Sea ch14
Scholars have not been able to locate definitely the sites referred to in Exodus 14:2.
"An Egyptian papyrus associates Baal Zephon with Tahpahnes ... a known site near
Lake Menzaleh in the northeastern delta region." [ ote: Youngblood, p75.]
However, it seems that the crossing took place farther south in view of the
implication that it took the Israelites no less and no more than three days to reach
Marah ( Exodus 15:22-23). The evidence for the location of Marah seems a bit
stronger.
"Yahweh"s first intention was to give the appearance that Israel, fearful of the main

9. road, then fearful of the wilderness, was starting first one way and then another, not
knowing where to turn and so a ready prey for recapture or destruction. Yahweh"s
second intention was to lure the Egyptians into a trap, first by making Pharaoh"s
mind obstinate once again, and then by defeating Pharaoh and his forces, who were
certain to come down in vengeance upon an apparently helpless and muddled
Israel." [ ote: Durham, p187.]
The Hebrew phrase yam sup that Moses used to describe the body of water through
which the Israelites passed miraculously means "Red Sea," not "Reed Sea."
"If there is anything that sophisticated students of the Bible know, it is that yam
sup, although traditionally translated Red Sea, really means Reed Sea, and that it
was in fact the Reed Sea that the Israelites crossed on their way out of Egypt.
"Well it doesn"t and it wasn"t and they"re wrong!" [ ote: Batto, p57.]
In the article quoted above, the writer explained that the word sup did not originate
in the Egyptian language but in Hebrew. Many scholars have claimed it came from
an Egyptian root word meaning "reed." He showed that it came from a Hebrew
root word meaning "end." Yam is also a Hebrew word that means "sea." The yam
sup is then the sea at the end. The ancients used the name yam sup to describe the
body of water that lay beyond the farthest lands known to them. It meant the sea at
the end of the world. It clearly refers to the Red Sea often in the Old Testament (
Exodus 15:4; umbers 21:4; umbers 33:8; Joshua 2:10; Joshua 4:23; 1 Kings
9:26; Jeremiah 49:21; et al.). The Greeks later used the same term, translated into
Greek, to refer to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. The translation of yam
sup as Reed Sea is evidently both inaccurate and misleading. It implies that the
Israelites simply crossed some shallow marsh when they left Egypt. Such an
interpretation lacks support in the inspired record of Israel"s Exodus. [ ote: For a
summary of views on the site of crossing, see Davis, pp168-71 , or Hyatt, pp156-61.]
"The Hebrew word sup, which corresponds closely to the Egyptian tjuf
("papyrus"), refers to the reeds along the bank of the ile in Exodus 2:3 and to the
seaweed in the Mediterranean in Jonah 2:5 [ Habakkuk 2:6]. Since there are a series
of lakes with abundant supplies of reeds and papyrus north of the Red Sea (the Gulf
of Suez)-such as Lake Manzaleh and Lake Timsah-it is felt that one of these may
have been the "Reed Sea" crossed by the Israelites." [ ote: Wolf, p140. See also The
ew Bible Dictionary, 1962 , s.v. "Red Sea," by Kenneth A. Kitchen.]
Moses recorded that God hardened Pharaoh"s heart three times in this chapter (
Exodus 14:4; Exodus 14:8; Exodus 14:17).
PETT, "Verses 1-14
Exodus 14. Yahweh Destroys the Forces of Egypt (Exodus 14:1-31).
In this chapter we discover how Pharaoh changed his mind and determined to bring
the Israelites back. Once the first grieving over the deaths of the firstborns was over

10. things did not seem quite so black and, angry at being thwarted, he began to wonder
why he had given in. So he gave chase with a comparatively powerful force. But this
was all within Yahweh’s purpose and the destruction of his forces finally meant that
the Israelites no longer had a fear of immediate pursuit.
The Pursuit By The Egyptians Will Result in Deliverance By Yahweh (Exodus 14:1-
14).
There is a further example of a chiasmus within a chiasmus in this passage which
again brings out how Yahweh fulfils His promises:
a Pharaoh will say they are entangled in the land and the wilderness has shut
them in (Exodus 14:3).
b Yahweh will get Himself honour on Pharaoh and all his hosts and the
Egyptians will know that He is Yahweh (Exodus 14:4).
c The Egyptians say, ‘Why have we let Israel go from slaving for us?’ (Exodus
14:5).
d Pharaoh makes ready his chariot forces and takes them forward (Exodus
14:6-7).
e Pharaoh pursues the children of Israel (Exodus 14:8).
e The Egyptians pursue the children of Israel and get them in their sights
(Exodus 14:9).
d The children of Israel lift up their eyes and see the forces of Pharaoh (Exodus
14:10).
c Israel cry out with a desire to slave for the Egyptians (Exodus 14:11-12).
b The salvation of Yahweh will be revealed. The Egyptians will be seen no
more (Exodus 14:13).
a Yahweh will fight for them and they will hold their peace (Exodus 14:14).
ote how in ‘a’ Pharaoh will say they are entangled in the land and the wilderness
has shut them in, a devastating situation, in the parallel Yahweh fights for them and
they will confidently hold their peace. In ‘b’ Yahweh will get Himself honour on
Pharaoh and all his hosts and the Egyptians will know that He is Yahweh, while in
the parallel the salvation of Yahweh will be revealed, and the Egyptians will be seen
no more (truly they now ‘know that He is Yahweh’). In ‘c’ the Egyptians say, ‘Why
have we let Israel go from slaving for us?’, while in the parallel it is the Israelites
who in craven fear cry out with a desire to slave for the Egyptians. In ‘d’ Pharaoh
makes ready his chariot forces and takes them forward, while in the parallel the
children of Israel lift up their eyes and see their forces. In ‘e’ Pharaoh pursues the
children of Israel, while in the parallel the Egyptians pursue the children of Israel
and get them in their sights.
Exodus 14:1-4
‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, “Speak to the children of Israel that they turn
back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea before Baal-
zephon. You will encamp over against it by the sea. And Pharaoh will say of the
children of Israel, ‘They are entangled in the land. The wilderness has shut them in.’

11. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will follow after them. And I will get for
myself honour on Pharaoh and on all his host. And the Egyptians will know that I
am Yahweh.” And they did so.’
The withdrawal from Etham, where they had encamped, was probably caused
because the children of Israel panicked when they saw the border fortresses. So
Yahweh graciously incorporated the withdrawal in His plan. They were to turn
back and encamp at Pi-hahiroth. This would be reported back to Pharaoh by the
men at the frontier forts who would then gloat as he realised that they were afraid
and were trapped in the wilderness by the sea.
There could be no doubt that Pharaoh was seething. He had been humiliated in a
way to which he was unaccustomed. Yahweh will thus use this to make him
determine to humiliate the children of Israel and their God in turn. Because of false
reports (Exodus 14:5) he will follow them and seek to drag them back by force,
possibly after taking great revenge on their leaders. We must remember that to
some extent he himself had been sheltered from the effects of the plagues. But this
too was in Yahweh’s plan for He will defeat them, revealing once for all that He is
Yahweh.
“Pi-hahiroth” --- ‘Migdol’ --- ‘Baal-zephon’. This defines their next encampment.
As with all the cities and places mentioned identification is uncertain. Pi-hahiroth
could mean ‘house of the goddess Hrt’, or ‘mouth of the canals’ (P’-hr was a canal
near Raamses), connecting it with the watery borders of Egypt. Baal-zephon (‘lord
of the north’) has been tentatively identified with Tahpahnes (Tell Dephne), but this
is uncertain. This identification is based on a Phoenician letter of 6th century BC
which refers to ‘Baal-zephon and all the gods of Tahpahnes’. Baal-zephon was a
Canaanite god known to have been worshipped in lower Egypt. ‘Migdol’ means a
tower and this was presumably a prominent tower on the border, but there were
many Migdols.
“I will get for myself honour.” It was the boast of many ancient would-be
conquerors that they would go out with their armies and ‘get themselves honour’ by
the defeat of great foes. This thus refers to the defeat and humiliation of Pharaoh
and his forces.
“And the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” Yahweh’s revelation of Himself
as the One Who acts continues. The Egyptians already know of Yahweh but they
will have the revelation of what He is made abundantly clearer in the defeat of their
armies (compare on Exodus 6:3). It is not only Israel who come to a deeper
knowledge of the name of Yahweh by the experiencing of His power.
“And they did so.” The people did what Yahweh commanded.
EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMME TARY, "THE RED SEA.
Exodus 14:1-31.

12. It would seem that the Israelites recoiled before a frontier fortress of Egypt at
Khetam (Etham). This is probable, whatever theory of the route of the Exodus one
may adopt; and it is still open to every reader to adopt almost any theory he pleases,
provided that two facts are borne in mind: viz., first, that the narrative certainly
means to describe a miraculous interference, not superseding the forces of nature,
but wielding them in a fashion impossible to man; and second, that the phrase
translated "Red Sea"(25) (Exodus 18:18, Exodus 15:4) is the same which is
confessed by all persons to have that meaning in Exodus 23:31, and in umbers 21:4
and umbers 33:10.
Checked, without loss or with it, they were bidden to "turn back," and encamp at
Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. And since Migdol is simply a watch-tower
(there were several in the Holy Land, including that which gave her name to Mary
Magdal-ene), we are to infer that from thence their inexplicable movements were
signalled back to Pharaoh. It was the natural signal for all the wild passions of a
baffled and half-ruined tyrant to leap into flame. We are scarcely able to imagine
the mental condition of men who conceived that a God Who had dealt out death and
destruction might be far from invincible from another side. But ages after this, a
campaign was planned upon the ingenious theory that "Jehovah is a god of the hills
but He is not a god of the valleys" (1 Kings 20:28); and plenty of people who would
scorn this simple notion are still of opinion that He is a God of eternity and can save
them from hell, but a little falsehood and knavery are much better able to save them
from want in the meanwhile. ay, there are many excellent persons who are not at
all of opinion that the prince of this world has been dethroned.
Therefore, when his enemies recoiled from his fortresses and wandered away into
the wilderness of Egypt, entangling themselves hopelessly between the sea, the
mountains, and his own strongholds, it might well appear to Pharaoh that Jehovah
was not a warlike deity, that he himself had now found out the weak point of his
enemies, and could pursue and overtake and satisfy his lust upon them. There is a
significant emphasis in the song of Miriam's triumph--"Jehovah is a man of war."
At all events, it was through an imperfect sense of the universal and practical
importance of Jehovah as a factor not to be neglected in his calculations, through
exactly the same error which misleads every man who postpones religion, or limits
the range of its influence in his daily life,--it was thus, and not through any rarer
infatuation, that Pharaoh made ready six hundred chosen chariots and all the
chariots of Egypt, and captains over all of them. And his court was of the same
mind, saying, "What is this that we have done, that we have let Israel go from
serving us?"
These words are hard to reconcile with the strange notion that until now a return
after three days was expected, despite the torrent of blood which rolled between
them, and the demands by which the Israelitish women had spoiled the Egyptians.
Upon this theory it is not their own error, but the bad faith of their servants, which
they should have cried out against.

13. At the sight of the army, a panic seized the servile hearts of the fugitives. First they
cried out unto the Lord. But how possible it is, without any real faith, to address to
Heaven the mere clamours of our alarm, and to mistake natural agitation for
earnestness in prayer, we learn by the reproaches with which, after thus crying to
the Lord, they assailed His servant. Were there no graves in that land of superb
sepulchres--that land, now, of universal mourning? Would God that they had
perished with the firstborn! Why had they been treated thus? Had they not urged
Moses to let them alone, that they might serve the Egyptians?
And yet these men had lately, for the very promise of so much emancipation as they
now enjoyed, bowed their heads in adoring thankfulness. As it was their fear which
now took the form of supplication, so then it was their hope which took the form of
praise. And we, how shall we know whether that in us which seems to be religious
gladness and religious grief, is mere emotion, or is truly sacred? By watching
whether worship and love continue, when emotion has spent its force, or has gone
round, like the wind, to another quarter.
How did Moses feel when this outcry told him of the unworthiness and cowardice of
the nation of his heart? Much as we feel, perhaps, when we see the frailties and
failures of converts in the mission-field, and the lapse of the intemperate who have
seemed to be reclaimed for ever. We thought that perfection was to be reached at a
bound. ow we think that the whole work was unreal. Both extremes are wrong: we
have much to learn from the failures of that ancient church, in which was the germ
of hero, psalmist, and prophet, which was indeed the church in the wilderness, and
whose many relapses were so tenderly borne with by God and His messenger.
The settled faith of Moses, and the assurances which he could give the agitated
people,(26) contrast nobly with their alarm. But his confidence also had its secret
springs in prayer, for the Lord said to him, "Wherefore criest thou unto Me? speak
unto the children of Israel that they go forward."
The words are remarkable on two accounts. Can prayer ever be out of place? ot if
we mean a prayerful dependent mental attitude toward God. But certainly, yes, if
God has already revealed that for which we still importune Him, and we are secretly
disquieted lest His promise should fail. It is misplaced if our own duty has to be
done, and we pass the golden moments in inactivity, however pious. Christ spoke of
men who should leave their gift before the altar, unpresented, because of a neglected
duty which should be discharged. And perhaps there are men who pray for the
conversion of the heathen, or of friends at home, to whom God says, Wherefore
criest thou unto Me? because their money and their faithful efforts must be given, as
Moses must arouse himself to lead the people forward, and to stretch his wand over
the sea.
And again the forces of nature are on the side of God: the strong wind makes the
depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over. History has no scene more
picturesque than this wild night march, in the roar of tempest, amid the flying foam
which "baptized" them unto Moses,(27) while the glimmering waters stood up like a

14. rampart to protect their flanks; the full moon of passover above them, shown and
hidden as the swift clouds raced before the storm, while high and steadfast
overhead, unshaken by the fiercest blast, illumined by a mysterious splendour,
"stood" the vast cloud which veiled like a curtain their whole host from the pursuer.
This it was, and the experience of such protection that the Egyptians, overawed,
came not near them, which gave them courage to enter the bed of the sea; and as
they trod the strange road they found that not only were the waters driven off the
surface, but the sands were left firm to traverse.
But when the blind fury of Pharaoh, "hardened" against everything but the sense
that his prey was escaping, sent his army along the same track, and this after long
delay, at a crisis when every moment was priceless, then a new element of terrible
sublimity was added. Through the pillar of cloud and fire Jehovah looked forth on
the Egyptian host, as they pressed on behind, unable to penetrate the supernatural
gloom, cold fear creeping into every heart, while the chariot wheels laboured heavily
in the wet sand. In that direful vision at last the question was answered, "Who is
Jehovah, that I should let His people go?" ow it was the turn of those who said
"Israel is entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in," themselves to be
taken in a worse net. For at that awful gaze the iron curb of military discipline gave
way; their labouring chariots, the pride and defence of the nation, were forsaken;
and a wild cry broke out, "Let us fly from the face of Israel, for Jehovah"--He who
plagued us--"fighteth for them against the Egyptians." But their humiliation came
too late,--for in the morning watch, at a natural time for atmospheric changes, but
in obedience to the rod of Moses, the furious wind veered or fell, and the sea
returned to its accustomed limits; and first, as the sands beneath became saturated,
the chariots were overturned and the mail-clad charioteers went down "like lead,"
and then the hissing line of foam raced forward and closed around and over the
shrieking mob which was the pride and strength of Egypt only an hour before.
But, as the story repeats twice over, with a very natural and glad reiteration, "the
children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a
wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left" (Exodus 14:29, cf. Exodus
14:22).
BI 1-4, "Encamp before Pi-hahiroth.
The good in the trying situations of life
I. That the good are often brought, by the providence of God, into the most trying
situations in life (Exo_14:1). It is in the trying situations of life that we get the best
revelations of the love and power of God. When men feel that they cannot help
themselves, then God helps them. Thus they are humbled. They are brought to despair
of creature aids. Then the promises become precious. The circumstances of life are all
divinely ordered with immediate reference to the moral culture of the good; the
Israelites were taught a great lesson before Pi-hahiroth. When God fixes our position, it
is sure to be a salutary one, even though it be perplexing.
II. That the trying circumstances into which the good are providentially brought are
vigilantly observed by the wicked (Exo_14:3). Satan watches the best opportunity of
frustrating the march of the soul into freedom. But the wicked often misinterpret the

15. providence of God in reference to the good, and hence pursue their plans to their own
ruin.
III. That the trying situations into which the good are brought are designed ultimately
to enhance the glory of God and the retribution of wicked men. “I will be honoured upon
Pharaoh,” “That the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” Lessons:
1. Rest patiently in the circumstances in which God has placed you.
2. God is greater than all the hindrances to your true freedom.
3. Follow God, even though it be through the great waters. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
In a fix
I was led to take this subject from seeing a sheet almanac upon which was painted a boy
who had got his satchel full of apples, which, I presume, he had been stealing. He was
hanging by the tips of his fingers from the top of a wall, and just above the wall on the
other side was the owner, while at the bottom was a big bulldog, chained to a kennel—he
could not go up for fear of the owner, he dare not drop down for fear of the dog; and it
said at the bottom, “In a fix.” It would be very well for us if that represented the only fix
in which we had ever been. I might talk for a considerable time in a general way about
men who have been in a fix, but now I want you to give me your attention while I try to
point out to you a nation that was once in a fix, and, if I can, teach some lesson, s that
may be of use to you and me. There they are—the river before them, rocks on either
hand, and the Egyptians behind them. They could not make boats to cross the sea; they
could not fly; and were unable to fight—they had not the skill, neither the weapons. The
most remarkable thing is this, that God, who had sent Moses to deliver them, had
brought them into this very position! Observe, they were in the path of duty—doing just
as He had commanded them; suggesting to us the thought that if we would serve our
God faithfully, sometimes we may find ourselves “in a fix.” There will be times when
dark clouds will gather, and we cannot see our way, and we shall feel inclined to give up
in despair. But wait a bit. If God has brought them into this fix, He will bring them out of
it. There they are; and, see! Pharaoh is following. He did not let the people go until he
had been compelled; and, like a man shamed out of half-a-crown for some charitable
purpose, he repented afterwards. He went after them designing their ruin, but God
designed to ruin him. He designed to put the Lord’s people into a fix, and the Lord—who
always protects His own—designed to fix him. And then comes this thought: That what
seems to tend to our ruin is often over-ruled to our good. A great many years ago there
used to be the old stage coach, and in those days they were the chief means of travelling.
I have heard some old men say what a terrible thing it was to take a long journey. One
day the locomotive was invented; they were going to take goods and people in such
quantities and at such a speed as the stage coach never could. The owners of the coaches
might declare they were all to be ruined! What would become of them? The stage coach
was ruined, but what of its owners? They shared the common advantages of the “puffing
billy.” This same principle will apply to things of the present day. Years ago, tailoring
was said to be a good business. Their sewing was then done by hand. By and by the
sewing-machine was invented; and when it was brought to something like perfection,
clothing was sewn with it. The tailors were in such a state—it would destroy their
prospects! it would ruin their trade! And the dressmakers were in the same excited
condition. When were tailoring and dressmaking better than now? They are, I am told,
more profitable than they ever were. I give you these illustrations to prove my

16. statement—that very often that which seems to tend to our injury is over-ruled by a
merciful Providence to our good. These Egyptians were following the Israelites, and were
about to destroy them; they appeared now in the jaws of death, but it was over-ruled.
“The wicked,” says Solomon, “diggeth a pit, and falleth into it.” “He layeth a snare, and
his own feet are taken therein.” Ah I there are many things you and I cannot understand
now. Many a cloud sweeps over our path; many dark things we cannot quite see through.
If we could rise above all these things, and see God’s doings, perhaps we should rejoice
that He sometimes puts us in a fix. We do not see through it all now; we shall by and by.
“Sometimes God brings us into straits that He may bring us to our knees.” You know
that to be true. Often in your sorrow you have looked unto your Father for the help you
could not get elsewhere. Observe, if they were in a fix, Moses was not. What did he do?
He cried, “Fear not, God will fight for you”; though God has led you here, He will lead
you elsewhere. He knew they could do nothing, so he commanded them to stand still.
Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. Have you never been in a fix like this? Your
business has failed, your prospects blighted, your heart smarting through some
bereavement. A darling child or wife has been snatched from you. In utter helplessness
you have cried, “What can I do?” You can do nothing. You have been doing too long. God
has brought all this to teach you to stand still, and let Him do. “Stand still.” Oh! there is
reason in that. If your God brings you to see your helplessness and poverty, and He
reveals His true riches to you, it is worth your while to “stand still.” Have salvation; you
may. Get His love into your hearts; stand till He makes you free; and when once He does,
then comes the cry as Moses gave it, “Forward!” and though there be before you a dark
night and a troubled sea, you may go forward with safety. There is this further thought:
that though sometimes God allows the enemies of His people to bring them into a fix, be
assured the Lord will turn the scales, and bring the enemies into a fix. What He did for
these Egyptians—the haters of the friends of God—He may do for you. Many a faithful
man o! God has been annoyed, perhaps by you; but be assured, God will annoy you. See
what He did for these Egyptians. There was, first, darkness. That which gave light to His
people became dark to His enemies. It is dark where the enemies of God are—so dark!
Secondly, God troubled them. The children of God crossed the sea, and you know how in
following them the Egyptians all perished in the waters, through which the Israelites had
passed in safety. One word more. If you are on the side of God and truth, He will be with
you, and bring you out of every fix into which you may get whilst serving Him. On the
other hand, if you refuse to acknowledge Him, you may get into a fix which you will
never be able to get out of. (Charles Leach.)
Right beginnings; or, no “progress”
Every true and strong life has its sharp transitions, its critical choice, its decisive
moment between Migdol and the sea. It is true enough, most of our time we move on in
a path no way remarkable, or in a routine with nothing signal or memorable about it.
Day takes after day, and the scene, the occupation, the company, helps and hindrances,
are much the same from month to month. But look longer, and you find that, however
the wheels of habit may run on in a kind of groove, with few startling outside changes,
yet somewhere there was a spot where this regular drift got its start and its new
direction. You stood alone somewhere, at a parting of two ways, and you chose; and
then, as the consequence of that choice, your life went thenceforth in a particular
channel, pure or filthy, straight or crooked, heavenward or hellward, long after. And
there is nothing exceptional about this. The same law governs national concerns,
processes in nature, and mechanics. War, for instance, is well-nigh the staple of history;

17. and yet historians count but fifteen decisive battles of the world, all other vast
movements of ages and empires winding like a whirlpool around these bloody centres.
So in mechanics. Only now and then, on its turn-table, the engine is set in its new
direction; but all it does, or draws, afterwards, proceeds from that momentary pivotal
determination. The grain grows clay and night all summer till harvest; but there is a
single time of planting. The patriarch lodged only one night at Bethel; but then,
afterward, all his journeyings over the Eastern lands were at the bidding of his God. How
did you come to be the man you are to-day? There was most likely some hour of choice.
Two forms of apparent good lay before you. Two voices spoke. Among all the common
questions that rise, this one question rose. It was the question of your soul’s eternity.
Very likely it had relation, too, to some other soul besides your own—your affection, your
duty, to him or her. Perhaps it was in the line of your common doing, only an emergency
of larger and uncommon concern. How did you act? Did you say Yes, or No? Did you go
or stay? Did you accept the partnership, the companionship, the offer—or refuse? The
question is not one of expediency, or taste, or convenience, or profit. It has to do with
your soul’s life, honour, uprightness, salvation. Such periods can be recalled in memory,
I think, by most persons; but never recalled in fact. The rest of life depends on them, and
on the way we meet them. We are between Migdol and the sea. Egypt and Pharaoh—an
old, bad life, and its despotism of darkness—are behind; the other way the road runs
where God will. With Israel it was well that it ran to the baptism in the cloud and in the
sea. We have only to enlarge the reach of such a decision, carrying it through the roots
and springs of character, to find in it that one all-including, all-controlling choice which
turns a bad man into a good one, or creates a living Christian. Indeed, it is of that one
radical renewing that the exodus of Israel has always been regarded as the type. (Bp. F.
D. Huntington.)
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.
BAR ES, "That they turn - i. e. away from the wilderness, and go southwards, to
the west of the Bitter Lakes, which completely separated them from the desert.
Pi-hahiroth - The place is generally identified with Ajrud, a fortress with a very large

18. well of good water, situated at the foot of an elevation commanding the plain which
extends to Suez, at a distance of four leagues. The journey from Etham might occupy
two, or even three days.
Migdol - A tower, or fort, the “Maktal” of Egyptian monuments; it is probably to be
identified with Bir Suweis, about two miles from Suez.
Baal-zephon - The name under which the Phoenicians, who had a settlement in
Lower Egypt at a very ancient period, worshipped their chief Deity. There can be no
doubt it was near Kolsum, or Suez. From the text it is clear that the encampment of the
Israelites extended over the plain from Pi-hahiroth: their headquarters being between
Bir Suweis and the sea opposite to Baal-Zephon. At Ajrud the road branches off in two
directions, one leading to the wilderness by a tract, now dry, but in the time of Moses
probably impassable (see next note); the other leading to Suez, which was doubtless
followed by the Israelites.
CLARKE, "Encamp before Pi-hahiroth - ‫ההירת‬ ‫פי‬ pi hachiroth, the mouth, strait,
or bay of Chiroth. Between Migdol, ‫מגדל‬ migdol, the tower, probably a fortress that
served to defend the bay. Over against Baal-zephon, ‫צפן‬ ‫בעל‬ baal tsephon, the lord or
master of the watch, probably an idol temple, where a continual guard, watch, or light
was kept up for the defense of one part of the haven, or as a guide to ships. Dr. Shaw
thinks that chiroth may denote the valley which extended itself from the wilderness of
Etham to the Red Sea, and that the part in which the Israelites encamped was called Pi-
hachiroth, i.e., the mouth or bay of Chiroth. See his Travels, p. 310, and his account at
the end of Exodus.
GILL, "Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn,.... Not return to Egypt,
or to the place, or towards the place from whence they came, but turn off, out of the road
in which they were; for, as a late traveller says (a),"there were two roads, through which
the Israelites might have been conducted from Cairo (which he supposes may be
Rameses) to Pihahiroth. One of them lies through the valleys, as they are now called, of
Jendily, Rumaleah, and Baideah, bounded on each side by the mountains of the lower
Thebais; the other lies higher, having the northern range of these mountains (the
mountains of Mocattee) running parallel with it on the right hand, and the desert of the
Egyptian Arabia, which lies all the way open to the land of the Philistines, on the left,
(see Exo_13:17) about the middle of this range we may turn short on our right hand into
the valley of Baideah, through a remarkable breach or discontinuation, in which we
afterwards continued to the very banks of the Red sea; this road then, through the valley
of Baideah, which is some hours longer than the other open road, which leads directly
from Cairo to Suez, was in all probability the very road which the Israelites took to
Pihahiroth, on the banks of the Red sea.''And again he says (b), this valley ends at the sea
in a small bay, made by the eastern extremities of the mountains, and is called "Tiah beni
Israel", i.e. the road of the Israelites, from a tradition of the Arabs, of their having passed
through it; as it is also called Baideah from the new and unheard of miracle that was
wrought near it, by dividing the Red sea, and destroying therein Pharaoh, his chariots
and horsemen:
and encamp before Pihahiroth: which was sixteen miles from Etham (c), and by

19. some (d) thought to be the same with the city of Heroes (or Heroopolis), on the extreme
part of the Arabic gulf, or the Phagroriopolis, placed by Strabo (e) near the same place:
according to the above traveller (f), Pihahiroth was the mouth, or the most advanced
part of the valley of Baideah to the eastward toward the Red sea; with which Jarchi in
some measure agrees, who says Pihahiroth is Pithom, now so called, because the
Israelites became free: they (Hahiroth) are two rocks, and the valley between them is
called (Pi) the mouth of the rocks: so Dr. Shaw observes (g); the word may be deduced
from ‫,חר‬ "a hole" or "gullet", and by a latitude common in those cases, be rendered a
narrow "defile", road or passage, such as the valley of Baideah has been described: but as
the Israelites were properly delivered at this place from their captivity and fear of the
Egyptians, Exo_14:13 we may rather suppose that Hhiroth denotes the place where they
were restored to their liberty; as Hhorar and Hhiroth are words of the like sort in the
Chaldee: but another very learned man (h) says, that in the Egyptian language
Pihahiroth signifies a place where grew great plenty of grass and herbs, and was
contiguous to the Red sea, and was like that on the other shore of the sea, the Arabian,
which Diodorus Siculus (i) speaks of as a pleasant green field:
between Migdol and the sea; which signifies a tower, and might be one: there was a
city of this name in Egypt, and in those parts, but whether the same with this is not
certain, Jer_44:1.
over against Baalzephon; which the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem take to be
an "idol": and so does Jarchi, and say it was the only one left of the idols of Egypt; see
Exo_12:12 and so some Christian as well as Jewish writers suppose it to be; and that it
was as a watch, or guard, or amulet, to keep fugitives from going out of the land: but by
Ezekiel the tragedian (k) it is called a city; and so by Josephus (l), who says they came to
Baalzephon the third day, a place situated by the Red sea; which is most likely, and it is
highly probable that this and Migdol were two fortified places, which guarded the mouth
of the valley, or the straits which led to the Red sea: Artapanus (m) the Heathen
historian agrees with Josephus in saying it was the third day when they came to the Red
sea:
before it shall ye encamp by the sea; and there wait till Pharaoh came up to them.
JAMISO , "Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp
— The Israelites had now completed their three days’ journey, and at Etham the decisive
step would have to be taken whether they would celebrate their intended feast and
return, or march onwards by the head of the Red Sea into the desert, with a view to a
final departure. They were already on the borders of the desert, and a short march would
have placed them beyond the reach of pursuit, as the chariots of Egypt could have made
little progress over dry and yielding sand. But at Etham, instead of pursuing their
journey eastward with the sea on their right, they were suddenly commanded to diverge
to the south, keeping the gulf on their left; a route which not only detained them
lingering on the confines of Egypt, but, in adopting it, they actually turned their backs on
the land of which they had set out to obtain the possession. A movement so unexpected,
and of which the ultimate design was carefully concealed, could not but excite the
astonishment of all, even of Moses himself, although, from his implicit faith in the
wisdom and power of his heavenly Guide, he obeyed. The object was to entice Pharaoh
to pursue, in order that the moral effect, which the judgments on Egypt had produced in

20. releasing God’s people from bondage, might be still further extended over the nations by
the awful events transacted at the Red Sea.
Pi-hahiroth — the mouth of the defile, or pass - a description well suited to that of
Bedea, which extended from the Nile and opens on the shore of the Red Sea.
Migdol — a fortress or citadel.
Baal-zephon — some marked site on the opposite or eastern coast.
COKE, "Exodus 14:2. Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn— Dr. Shaw
is of opinion, that this expression to turn, &c. may serve to determine the geography
of Etham, the second station of the Israelites; which, if it appertain to the wilderness
of the same name, the edge of it may be well taken for the most advanced part of it
towards Egypt; and, consequently, to lie contiguous with some portion or other of
the mountains of the lower Thebais, or of Mocattee, near Kairo. Removing from the
edge of this wilderness, the Israelites are immediately ordered to turn (to the
southeast) from the course, as we may imagine, of their former marches, which was
hitherto in an easterly direction, and to encamp before Pi-hahiroth. As Pi-hahiroth,
therefore, must lie to the right hand of the wilderness of Etham, within or on the
side of these mountains; so the second station, or the particular portion of this
wilderness of Etham, may be fixed about fifty miles from Kairo, at or near the
breach mentioned in the note on Exodus 14:18 of the last chapter.
Pi-hahiroth— Or, the chops of Hhiroth. A geographical description of the route of
the Israelites at this interesting time must be so pleasing to the learned reader, that I
shall be excused if I give Dr. Shaw's account at large: "That the Israelites," says the
doctor, "before they turned towards Pi-hahiroth, had travelled in an open country,
appears to be further illustrated from hence; that upon their being ordered to
remove from the edge of the wilderness, and to encamp before Pi-hahiroth; it
immediately follows, Exodus 14:3 they are entangled in the land: the wilderness
(betwixt the mountains, we may suppose, of Gewoubee and Attackah, for the
Hebrews call all uncultivated land, which is fit only for pasture, ‫מדבר‬ midbar,
wilderness) hath shut them in: or, is it is in the original, ‫סגר‬ saggar, hath shut up the
way against them; for, in these circumstances, the Egyptians might well imagine,
that the Israelites could have no way to escape, inasmuch as the mountains of
Gewoubee would stop their flight or progress to the southward, as those of Attackah
would do the same towards the land of the Philistines: the Red-sea likewise lay
before them to the east, while Pharaoh closed up the valley behind them with his
chariots and horsemen.
This valley ends at the sea in a small bay, made by the eastern extremities of the
mountains which I have been describing, and is called Tiah Beni Israel, i.e. the road
of the Israelites, from a tradition, which is still kept up by the Arabs, of their having
passed through it; and is also called Baideah, from the new and unheard-of miracle
(which the word signifies in the Arabic) which was wrought near it by dividing the
Red-sea, and destroying therein Pharaoh, his chariots and horsemen. The third
encampment, then, of the Israelites was at this bay. It was before Pi-hahiroth,

21. betwixt Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon; and according to umbers
33:7 it was before Migdol, where the word ‫לפני‬ lipni, before, being applied to Pi-
hahiroth and Migdol, may signify no more than that they pitched within sight of, or
at a small distance from, the one and the other of those places. Baal-zephon may be
interpreted the god, or idol of the north; for baal signifies god or lord, and zephon is
rendered north in many places of Scripture; and he is so called, perhaps, in
contradistinction to other idols of the Lower Thebais, whose places of worship were
to the south or east. If zephon be related to ‫צפה‬ tzape, to spy out or observe, then
Baal-zephon will, probably, signify the god of the watch-tower, or the guardian god;
such as was the Hermes of the Romans, &c. ow, whether Baal-zephon may have
relation to the northern situation of the place, or to some watch-tower, or idol-
temple erected upon it; we may properly take it for the eastern extremity of the
mountains of Suez or Attackah, the most conspicuous of these deserts, as it
overlooks a great part of the Lower Thebais, as well as the wilderness which reaches
towards, or which rather makes part of the land of the Philistines. Migdol then
might lie to the south, as Baal-zephon did to the north of Pi-hahiroth; for the
marches of the Israelites from the edge of the wilderness being to the sea-ward, i.e.
towards the south-east, their encampments between Migdol and the sea, or before
Migdol, could not well have another situation." Migdol signifies a tower. The LXX
render it Magdolos; and it is supposed to be the same with the place so called by
Herodotus. Pi-hahiroth, or chiroth rather, without regarding the prefixed part of it,
may have a more general signification, and denote the valley, or that whole space of
ground which extends from the edge of the wilderness of Etham to the Red-sea. For
that particular part only, where the Israelites were ordered to encamp, appears to
have been called Pi-hahiroth, i.e. the mouth of Hhiroth; for when Pharaoh almost
overtook them, it was (with respect to his coming down upon them, Exodus 14:9.)
‫על‬ ‫פי‬ ‫החירת‬ al pi hachirot, i.e. besides, or at the mouth, or the most advanced part of
chiroth, to the eastward. likewise, in umbers 33:7 where the Israelites are related
to have encamped before Migdol, it follows, Exodus 14:8 that they departed ‫החירת‬
‫מפני‬ miphni hachirot, from before chiroth, and not from before Pi-hahiroth, as it is
rendered in our translation. And in this sense it is taken by the LXX, by Eusebius,
and St. Jerome. It has been already observed, that this valley is closely confined
betwixt two rugged chains of mountains. By deducing chiroth, therefore, from ‫חר‬
chor or chour, i.e. a hole or gullet, (as the Samaritan and Syriac copies understand
it,) it may, by a latitude very common in these cases, be rendered a narrow defile,
road, or passage; such as the valley of Baideah has been described. Pi-hahiroth,
therefore, upon this supposition, will be the same as the mouth, or the most
advanced part of this valley, to the eastward toward the Red-sea. But as the
Israelites were properly delivered at this place from their captivity and fear of the
Egyptians, Exodus 14:13 we may rather suppose, that chiroth denotes the place
where they were restored to their liberty; as ‫חרר‬ chorar and ‫חירות‬ chiruth are words
of the like import in the Chaldee. In Rashi's Commentary, we have a further
confirmation of this interpretation. Pi-hahiroth, says he, is so called because the
children of Israel were made ‫בני‬ ‫חרים‬ Beni chorim, free-men at that place, in the
Targum likewise, ‫בןאּחרין‬ ben chorin is used to explain ‫חפשׁי‬ chapsi, ch. Exodus 21:2;
Exodus 21:5 a word which denotes liberty and freedom in these and other parts of
Scripture. And it may be further urged in favour, as well of this explication as of the

22. tradition still preserved, of the Israelites having passed through this valley, that the
eastern extremity of the mountain, which I suppose to be Baal-tzephon, is called,
even to this day, by the inhabitants of these deserts, Jibbel Attackah, or the
Mountain of Deliverance; which appellation, together with those of Baideah and
Tiah Beni Israel, could never have been given, or imposed upon these inhabitants at
first, or preserved by them afterwards, without some faithful tradition that such
place had once been the actual scene of these remarkable transactions. The sea,
likewise, of Kolzun, i.e. Destruction, as the correspondent part of the Red-sea is
called in the Arabian Geography, is a further confirmation of this tradition.
Moreover, the Icthyophagi, who lived in this very neighbourhood, are reported by
Diodorus Siculus, (lib. 3: p. 122.) to have preserved the like traditionary account
from their forefathers of this miraculous division of the Red-sea.
There are likewise other circumstances to prove, that the Israelites took their
departure from this valley in their passage through the Red-sea. For it could not
have been to the northward of the mountains of Attackah, or in the higher road
which has been before taken notice of; because, as this lies for the most part upon a
level, the Israelites could not have been here, as we find they were, shut up and
entangled. either could it have been on the other side, viz. to the south of the
mountains of Gewoubee; for then (besides the insuperable difficulties which the
Israelites would have met with in climbing over them; the same likewise which the
Egyptians would have had in pursuing them,) the opposite shore could not have
been the desert of Shur, where the Israelites landed, ch. Exodus 15:22 but it would
have been the desert of Marah, which lay a great way beyond it. What is now called
Corondel, might, probably, be the southern portion of the desert of Marah, the
shore of the Red-sea from Suez hitherto having continued to be low and sandy; but
from Corondel to the port of Tor, the shore is, for the most part, rocky and
mountainous, in the same manner with the Egyptian coast which lies opposite to it;
neither the one nor the other of them affording any convenient place either for the
departure of a multitude from the one shore, or the reception of it upon the other.
And besides, from Corondel to Tor, the channel of the Red-sea, which from Suez to
Shur is not above nine or ten miles broad, begins here to be so many leagues; too
great a space certainly for the Israelites, in the manner they were encumbered, to
pass over in one night. As the Israelites then, for these reasons, could not have
landed, according to the opinion of some authors, either at Corondel or Tor, so
neither could they have landed at Ain el Mousah, according to the conjectures of
others; for, if the passage of the Israelites had been so near the extremity of the Red-
sea, it may be presumed, that the very encampments of six hundred thousand men,
besides children, and a mixed multitude, would have spread themselves even to the
farther, or the Arabian side of this narrow isthmus, whereby the interposition of
Providence would not have been at all necessary; because in this case, and in this
situation, there could not have been room enough for the waters, after they were
divided, to have stood on an heap, or to have been a wall unto them, particularly on
the left hand. This, moreover, would not have been a division, but a recess only of
the waters to the southward. Pharaoh likewise, by overtaking them, as they were
encamped in this open situation by the sea, would have easily surrounded them on
all sides; whereas the contrary seems to be implied by the pillar of the cloud,

23. (Exodus 14:19-20.) which divided or came between the camp of the Egyptians and
the camp of Israel, and thereby left the Israelites (provided this cloud should have
been removed) in a situation only of being molested in the rear: for the narrow
valley which has been described, and which, we may presume, was already occupied
and filled up behind by the host of Egypt, and before by the encampments of the
Israelites, would not permit or leave room for the Egyptians to approach them,
either on the right hand or on the left. Besides, if this passage was at Ain Mousah,
how can we account for that remarkable circumstance, ch. Exodus 15:22 where it is
said, that when Moses brought Israel from the Red-sea, they went out into, or
landed in, the wilderness of Shur? For Shur, a particular district of the wilderness
of Etham, lies directly fronting the valley from which, I suppose, they departed, but
a great many miles to the southward of Ain Mousah. If likewise they landed at Ain
Mousah, where there are several fountains, there would have been no occasion for
the sacred historian to have observed, at the same time, that the Israelites, after they
went out from the sea into the wilderness of Shur, went three days in the wilderness
(always directing their marches towards Mount Sinai) and found no water. For
which reason Marah is recorded, in the following verse, to be the first place where
they found water; as their wandering thus far before they found it seems to make
Marah also the first station after their passage through the Red-sea. Beside, the
channel over against Ain Mousah is not above three miles over, whereas that
betwixt Shur or Sedur, and Jibbel Gewoubee and Attackah, is nine or ten, and
therefore capacious enough; as the other would have been too small for drowning or
covering therein (ch. Exodus 14:28.) the chariots and horsemen, and all the host of
Pharaoh. And therefore, by impartially weighing all these arguments together, this
important point in the sacred geography may, with more authority, be fixed at
Sedur, over against the valley of Baideah, than at Tor, Corondel, Ain Mousah, or
any other place. Over-against Jibael Attackah, and the valley of Baideah, is the
desert, as it is called, of Sdur, the same with Shur, ch. Exodus 15:22 where the
Israelites landed, after they had passed through the interjacent gulph of the Red-
sea. The situation of this gulph, which is the Jam Suph, ‫ים‬ ‫,ףּסו‬ the weedy sea, or the
tongue of the Egyptian sea, in the Scripture language; the gulph of Heroopolis in the
Greek and Latin Geography; and the western arm, as the Arabian geographers call
it, of the sea of Kolzun; stretches itself nearly north and south, and therefore lies
very properly situated to be traversed by that strong east wind which was sent to
divide it, ch. Exodus 14:21 . The division which was thus made in the channel, the
making the waters of it to stand as on an heap, (Psalms 78:13.) they being a wall to
the Israelites on their right hand, and on their left, ch. Exodus 14:22 besides the
twenty miles distance, at least, of this passage from the extremity of the gulph, are
circumstances which sufficiently vouch for the miraculousness of it; and no less
contradict all such idle suppositions as pretend to account for it from the nature and
quality of tides, or from any extraordinary recess of the sea. See Dr. Shaw's Travels,
p. 310, &c.
REFLECTIO S.— They were now got well out of Pharaoh's reach; but God hath
farther designs for his own glory in the overthrow of that haughty monarch. He
therefore commands Moses to wheel to the right, to that part hemmed in by the sea
and the wilderness, knowing the heart of Pharaoh, and that the difficulties of their

24. situation would induce him to follow them, where he should meet with merited
destruction. God has wise designs, even in the straits to which he reduces his people,
that, in their deliverance, he may make his power, grace, and love more evidently
appear.
ELLICOTT, "THE PURSUIT BY PHARAOH A D THE PASSAGE OF THE
RED SEA.
(2) Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn.—The march of the Israelites
had been hitherto almost due south-east. They had reached the edge of the desert
(Exodus 13:20), near the head of the Bitter Lakes. If this direction had been
maintained, their next day’s march would have taken them out of Egypt into the
“wilderness of Etham”—a desolate tract, in which there was no water, and probably
scarcely any herbage. The Bitter Lakes would have been upon their right hand, and,
so far as the Egyptians were concerned, they would have been in safety. But at this
point an express command was given them to “turn.” Kaiisch, Rosenmüller, and
others understand this as a command to “return,” or “retrace their steps;” but this
is clearly not what was intended, since their march was to bring them to “the sea,”
which they had not reached previously. The question arises, What sea? Brugsch
suggests the Mediterranean; but it is against this that the Mediterranean has not yet
been mentioned in Exodus, and that, when mentioned, it is not as “the sea,” but as
“the sea of the Philistines” (Exodus 23:31). “The sea” of this verse can scarcely be
different from “the Red Sea” of Exodus 13:18, the only sea previously mentioned by
the writer. To reach this sea it was necessary that they should deflect their course to
the right, from south-east to south, so keeping within the limits of Egypt, and
placing the Bitter Lakes on their left hand.
Pi-hahiroth . . . Migdol . . . Baal-zephon.—These places cannot be identified. They
were Egyptian towns or villages of no importance, near the head of the Gulf of Suez,
situated on its western shores. The names nearest to Pi-hahiroth in Egyptian
geography are Pehir and Pehuret. Migdol would, in Egyptian, be Maktal; and there
was an Egyptian town of that name near Pelusium, which, however, cannot be
intended in this place. Baal-zephon was probably a Semitic settlement, which had
received its name from some worshippers of the god Baal. Eastern Egypt contained
many such settlements. The accumulation of names indicates an accurate
acquaintance with Egyptian topography, such as no Israelite but one who had
accompanied the expedition is likely to have possessed.
3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are
wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed

25. in by the desert.’
BAR ES, "They are entangled ... - The original intention of Moses was to go
toward Palestine by the wilderness: when that purpose was changed by God’s direction
and they moved southwards, Pharaoh, on receiving information, was of course aware
that they were completely shut in, since the waters of the Red Sea then extended to the
Bitter Lakes. It is known that the Red Sea at some remote period extended considerably
further toward the north than it does at present. In the time of Moses the water north of
Kolsum joined the Bitter Lakes, though at present the constant accumulation of sand has
covered the intervening space to the extent of 8000 to 10,000 yards.
CLARKE, "They are entangled in the land - God himself brought them into
straits from which no human power or art could extricate them. Consider their situation
when once brought out of the open country, where alone they had room either to fight or
fly. Now they had the Red Sea before them, Pharaoh and his host behind them, and on
their right and left hand fortresses of the Egyptians to prevent their escape; nor had they
one boat or transport prepared for their passage! If they be now saved, the arm of the
Lord must be seen, and the vanity and nullity of the Egyptian idols be demonstrated. By
bringing them into such a situation he took from them all hope of human help, and gave
their adversaries every advantage against them, so that they themselves said, They are
entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.
GILL, "For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel,.... The Septuagint version
adds, "to his people", his ministers and courtiers, when he hears where they are:
they are entangled in the land; have lost their way, and got into places they cannot
easily get out of, and are perplexed in their minds, and do not know what way to take or
course to steer:
the wilderness hath shut them in; or, "shut up the way to them" (n); the wilderness
between the mountains the above mentioned traveller speaks of (o) the mountains of
Gewoubee; these would stop their flight or progress to the southward, as those of the
Attackah would do the same towards the land of the Philistines; the Red sea likewise lay
before them to the east, while Pharaoh (could) close up the valley behind them, with his
chariots and his horsemen; and which, no doubt, appeared very advantageous and
encouraging to him, as it must be very distressing to the Israelites.
JAMISO , "the wilderness hath shut them in — Pharaoh, who would eagerly
watch their movements, was now satisfied that they were meditating flight, and he
naturally thought from the error into which they appeared to have fallen by entering that

26. defile, he could intercept them. He believed them now entirely in his power, the
mountain chain being on one side, the sea on the other, so that, if he pursued them in
the rear, escape seemed impossible.
CALVI , "3.For Pharaoh will say. God here explains to Hoses His design;
although, in His engagements with Pharaoh, he had so often gained glorious
victories, that the last act still remained to overwhelm him and his army in the sea.
He says that Pharaoh, then, will be caught in riffs snare, so as to rush upon his
destruction. For, if the people had come into the land of Canaan by a direct course,
they could not have been so readily pursued; therefore God, for the sake, of
magnifying His glory, set a bait to catch the tyrant, just as fish are hooked. The
word here used ‫נבכים‬,)152 ) nebukim, some render “perplexed,” others “entangled;”
but it may be well explained, that they were to be “confounded in the land,” because
they would find no way of egress; as being on all sides hemmed in in the narrow
passage, with the sea behind them. And where He speaks of the intentions of
Pharaoh, He does not, as men do, conceive a mere probability, but; He declares the
secret mind of the tryrant, as of a thing which He well knew, since it is His attribute
to discern our hearts. Afterwards He goes still further; for he signifies not only that
He foresaw what would happen, but again repeats what we have so often observed
before, that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he should follow after the
people. Whence it follows, that all this was directed by tits will and guidance. But He
did not testify this to Hoses only in private, but would have them all previously
admonished, lest, being terrified by the sudden assault of their enemies, they should
despair of safety. But this admonition was less useful to them than it should have
been; because, being soon after surprised, they are not less alarmed than as if they
had been brought into danger through the error of God and the ignorance of Moses.
BE SO , "Verse 3-4
Exodus 14:3-4. Pharaoh will say they are entangled — He will presume that you are
hemmed in between the rocks and the sea. I will harden Pharaoh’s heart — See note
on Exodus 4:21; Exodus 7:13-14. The meaning is, that Pharaoh would take occasion,
from the apparently distressed situation the Israelites were now in, enclosed with
mountains, deserts, and Egyptian garrisons, to harden his heart. He would even be
so desperate as to attempt to follow and bring them back again into their former
state of bondage. I will be honoured upon Pharaoh — By the manifestation of my
power and justice.
ELLICOTT, "(3) Entangled in the land.—Literally, confused, perplexed. (Comp.
Esther 3:15.) Pharaoh, seeing that the Israelites had placed the Bitter Lakes on their
left, and were marching southward, in a direction which would soon put the Red
Sea on one side of them and a desert region—that about the Jebel Atakah—on the
other, thought that they must be quite ignorant of the geography, and have, as it
were, “lost their way.” He observed, moreover, that “the wilderness had shut them
in.” The desert tract between the ile Valley and the Red Sea lay upon their left and
in their front: they would soon be unable to proceed, and would not know which
way to turn.

27. 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.
CLARKE, "I will harden Pharaoh’s heart - After relenting and giving them
permission to depart, he now changes his mind and determines to prevent them; and
without any farther restraining grace, God permits him to rush on to his final ruin, for
the cup of his iniquity was now full.
GILL, "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart,.... Once more, as he had often done:
that he shall follow after them: to Pihahiroth, and even into the sea after them:
and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; in his wisdom,
faithfulness, power, and justice, by the destruction of them:
that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord; the only Jehovah, the Lord God
omnipotent; even those that feel the weight of his hand while troubling their host, and
bringing the waters upon them; especially those that shall remain in the land, and will
not be involved in the catastrophe:
and they did so: the Israelites turned to the right to Pihahiroth, instead of going by
Bishbesh and Tinah (Bubastis and Pelusium), and so along the sea coast towards Gaza
and Ascalon, and encamped there between Migdol and the sea over against Baalzephon,
as they were ordered and directed.
K&D, "Exo_14:4-9
When it was announced that Israel had fled, “the heart of Pharaoh and his servants
turned against the people,” and they repented that they had let them go. When and
whence the information came, we are not told. The common opinion, that it was brought
after the Israelites changed their route, has no foundation in the text. For the change in

28. Pharaoh's feelings towards the Israelites, and his regret that he had let them go, were
caused not by their supposed mistake, but by their flight. Now the king and his servants
regarded the exodus as a flight, as soon as they recovered from the panic caused by the
death of the first-born, and began to consider the consequences of the permission given
to the people to leave his service. This may have occurred as early as the second day after
the exodus. In that case, Pharaoh would have had time to collect chariots and horsemen,
and overtake the Israelites at Hachiroth, as they could easily perform the same journey
in two days, or one day and a half, to which the Israelites had taken more than three. “He
yoked his chariot (had it yoked, cf. 1Ki_6:14), and took his people (i.e., his warriors)
with him,” viz., “six hundred chosen war chariots (Exo_14:7), and all the chariots of
Egypt” (sc., that he could get together in the time), and “royal guards upon them all.”
‫ים‬ ִ‫שׁ‬ ִ‫ל‬ ָ‫,שׁ‬ τριστάται, tristatae qui et terni statores vocantur, nomen est secundi gradus post
regiam dignitatem (Jerome on Eze_23:23), not charioteers (see my Com. on 1Ki_9:22).
According to Exo_14:9, the army raised by Pharaoh consisted of chariot horses (‫ב‬ ֶ‫כ‬ ֶ‫ר‬ ‫,)סוּס‬
riding horses (‫ים‬ ִ‫שׁ‬ ָ‫ר‬ ָ , lit., runners, 1Ki_5:6), and ‫ל‬ִ‫י‬ ַ‫,ח‬ the men belonging to them. War
chariots and cavalry were always the leading force of the Egyptians (cf. Isa_31:1; Isa_
36:9). Three times (Exo_14:4, Exo_14:8, and Exo_14:17) it is stated that Jehovah
hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he pursued the Israelites, to show that God had
decreed this hardening, to glorify Himself in the judgment and death of the proud king,
who would not honour God, the Holy One, in his life. “And the children of Israel were
going out with a high hand:” Exo_14:8. is a conditional clause in the sense of, “although
they went out” (Ewald, §341). ‫ה‬ ָ‫מ‬ ָ‫ר‬ ‫ד‬ָ‫,י‬ the high hand, is the high hand of Jehovah with the
might which it displayed (Isa_26:11), not the armed hand of the Israelites. This is the
meaning also in Num_33:3; it is different in Num_15:30. The very fact that Pharaoh did
not discern the lifting up of Jehovah's hand in the exodus of Israel displayed the
hardening of his heart. “Beside Pihachiroth:” see Exo_14:2.
5 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!”
BAR ES, "The people fled - This was a natural inference from the change of
direction, which indicated a determination to escape from Egypt. Up to the time when

29. that information reached Pharaoh both he and his people understood that the Israelites
would return after keeping a festival in the district adjoining Etham. From Etham the
intelligence would be forwarded by the commander of the garrison to Rameses in less
than a day, and the cavalry, a highly-disciplined force, would be ready for immediate
departure.
CLARKE, "And it was told the king - that the people fled - Of their departure
he could not be ignorant, because himself had given them liberty to depart: but the word
fled here may be understood as implying that they had utterly left Egypt without any
intention to return, which is probably what he did not expect, for he had only given them
permission to go three days’ journey into the wilderness, in order to sacrifice to Jehovah;
but from the circumstances of their departure, and the property they had got from the
Egyptians, it was taken for granted that they had no design to return; and this was in all
likelihood the consideration that weighed most with this avaricious king, and
determined him to pursue, and either recover the spoil or bring them back, or both.
Thus the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people, and they said,
Why have we let Israel go from serving us? Here was the grand incentive to pursuit; their
service was profitable to the state, and they were determined not to give it up.
GILL, "And it was told the king of Egypt,.... By some of the Egyptians, or mixed
multitude that went out with Israel, but returned upon their encampment at the Red sea,
or by some spies Pharaoh sent with them to observe their motions: the Targums of
Jonathan and Jarchi make use of a word which Buxtorf translates military officers: and
the latter says, they went out with them the three days' journey, but the Israelites not
returning to Egypt (as expected), they tell Pharaoh of it the fourth day; and on the fifth
and sixth he pursued them, and in the night of the seventh went into the sea after them,
and on the morning they (the Israelites) sung the song, which was the seventh of the
passover: these reported to Pharaoh:
that the people fled; that under a pretence of going three days' journey into the
wilderness, to serve and sacrifice to the Lord, they were about to make their escape out
of the land:
and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants were turned against the
people; who had so much favour in their sight, not only to give them leave to go, and to
hasten their departure, but to lend and give them things of great value; but now their
hearts were filled with hatred of them, and with malice and revenge:
and they said, why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving
us? not Pharaoh only, but his servants said so, even those who had entreated him to let
them go, Exo_10:7 yet now repent of it, and cannot think what reason they had to do it,
when at that time they saw reason, and gave a very sufficient one, namely, the
destruction of Egypt; but now the judgments and plagues of God being no more upon
them, they recollect the great service of the Israelites to them and the benefits and
advantages they had reaped by it, and the loss they had sustained by parting with them,
and therefore reflect upon themselves for such a piece of conduct.

30. HE RY, " Pharaoh's pursuit of Israel, in which, while he gratifies his own malice and
revenge, he is furthering the accomplishment of God's counsels concerning him. It was
told him that the people fled, Exo_14:5. Such a fright was he in, when he gave them leave
to go, that when the fright was a little over he either forgot, or would not own, that they
departed with his consent, and therefore was willing that it should be represented to him
as a revolt from their allegiance. Thus what may easily be justified is easily condemned,
by putting false colours upon it. Now, hereupon,
1. He reflects upon it with regret that he had connived at their departure. He and his
servants, though it was with the greatest reason in the world that they had let Israel go,
yet were now angry with themselves for it: Why have we done thus? (1.) It vexed them
that Israel had their liberty, that they had lost the profit of their labours, and the
pleasure of chastising them. It is meat and drink to proud persecutors to trample upon
the saints of the Most High, and say to their souls, Bow down, that we may go over; and
therefore it vexes them to have their hands tied. Note, The liberty of God's people is a
heavy grievance to their enemies, Est_5:12, Est_5:13; Act_5:17, Act_5:33. (2.) It
aggravated the vexation that they themselves had consented to it, thinking now that they
might have hindered it, and that they needed not to have yielded, though they had stood
it out to the last extremity. Thus God makes men's envy and rage against his people a
torment to themselves, Psa_112:10. It was well done to let Israel go, and what they
would have reflected on with comfort if they had done it from an honest principle; but
doing it by constraint, they called themselves a thousand fools for doing it, and
passionately wished it undone again. Note, It is very common, but very absurd and
criminal, for people to repent of their good deeds; their justice and charity, and even
their repentance, are repented of. See an instance somewhat like this, Jer_34:10, Jer_
34:11.
JAMISO , "the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against
the people, etc. — Alas, how soon the obduracy of this reprobate king reappears! He
had been convinced, but not converted - overawed, but not sanctified by the appalling
judgments of heaven. He bitterly repented of what he now thought a hasty concession.
Pride and revenge, the honor of his kingdom, and the interests of his subjects, all
prompted him to recall his permission to reclaim those runaway slaves and force them
to their wonted labor. Strange that he should yet allow such considerations to obliterate
or outweigh all his painful experience of the danger of oppressing that people. But those
whom the Lord has doomed to destruction are first infatuated by sin.
CALVI , "5.And it was told the king. Moses does not simply mean, that the king
then first heard of the flight of the people, which had been anything but secret; but
that the circumstances were reported to him, which stirred him up to make an
attack upon them. When, then, he hears that the people fled in haste, he thinks that
they may be retained by the slightest obstacle. or is he alone influenced by this
foolish thought, but all his courtiers blame their own inertness for letting the people
go. They inquire among themselves, Why they have let the children of Israel depart?
as if they had not endeavored in every way to prevent their free exit — as if their
pertinacity had not been ten times divinely overcome — as if God had not at length
torn the people from them, in spite of their reluctance. But this is the stupidity of the
wicked, that they only dread God’s present hand, and immediately forget all that
they have seen. They were worn out by the fierce and dreadful punishments; but

31. now, as if nothing had happened, they discuss why they had not resisted God even to
the end, when he had compelled them to submit with extreme reluctance, after they
had ten times found out that they struggled against Him in vain. But such is the
pride by which the reprobate must be blinded, that they may be driven onwards to
their own destruction, while they are persuaded that there is nothing difficult to
them, and fight against. God.
BE SO , "Exodus 14:5. It was told the king that the people fled — As they had
been ordered by the Lord to turn a different way from that which led directly to
mount Horeb, it is probable that, as soon as Pharaoh heard of it, he concluded they
had no intention of going thither, but were escaping out of Egypt. He either forgot,
or would not own, that they had departed with his consent; and therefore was
willing it should be represented to him as a revolt from their allegiance. Why have
we done this? — They, who never truly repented of their sins, now heartily repent of
their only good action.
COFFMA , "Verses 5-9
"And it was told the king of Egypt that the people were fled: and the heart of
Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, What is
this that we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made
ready his chariot, and took his people with hire' and he took six hundred chosen
chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over all of them. And Jehovah
hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of
Israel: for the children of Israel went out with a high hand. And the Egyptians
pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and
his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-
zephon."
"It was told that the people had fled ..." Some try to make a contradiction out of this
by construing the word "fled" with the sense of "going away secretly," but this is
disproved by what the people said, "What is this that we have done ... we have let
Israel go ... etc." Besides that, as Fields pointed out "fled does not invariably imply
secrecy."[9] It is easily seen here what caused Pharaoh to change his mind. The
stupendous size of their loss had now been fully realized by the people, and they
were all, including Pharaoh, utterly unwilling to face the consequences of it.
How strange it is that Pharaoh, after all the pain and loss he had endured by means
of the ten plagues, would now determine once again to test his own strength against
the will of God! What a blind and irresponsible folly was his! As Jamieson said,
"Those whom the Lord has doomed to destruction are first infatuated by sin.[10]
"He made ready his chariot ... etc." This indicates that Pharaoh himself participated
in this attempt, that he "took his people," that "he pursued"; and from this it is
demanded that we understand Pharaoh himself to have been drowned by the
returning waters of the sea. Clement of Rome in his First Epistle affirmed that:

32. "Pharaoh and his army with all the princes of Egypt, and the chariots with their
riders, were sunk in the depths of the Red Sea, and perished, for no other reason
than that their foolish hearts were darkened, after so many signs and wonders had
been wrought in the land of Egypt by Moses the servant of God."[11]
Josephus and all the ancients were of the same opinion. "Horsemen ..." (Exodus
14:9) is called an anachronism by Harford,[12] but his mistake came about from
misunderstanding of the text. Rawlinson noted that:
"`Horses and chariots' should be read `all the chariot horses.' There is no `and' in
the original. `His rider' refers to those who rode in the chariots."[13]
"By the sea ..." The sea is mentioned three times in these first nine verses, and it is a
matter of the most remarkable interest that God was about to effect the second great
deliverance of mankind by means of water. Thus, the Israelites would take their
place along with oah and his house who were "saved by water." Thus:
oah and his house were saved through water.
The children of Israel were saved through water.
A bride for Isaac was chosen in a water test.
Jacob also found his bride at a well.
The water delivered Israel from Pharaoh, and the water destroyed Pharaoh.
The waters of the Jordan delivered them into Canaan.
Gideon's three hundred were selected in a water test.
Jesus' first miracle changed water to wine.
The waters of Bethesda were the scene of another sign.
The Pool of Siloam saw the blind man healed.
Jesus walked on the Sea of Galilee (Thus, four of the seven signs of John were water
signs)
Christ declared himself to be the Water of Life.
Christ declared that men must be born of the water.
Baptism doth now save us (as Peter declared).
The pierced side of Christ yielded water and blood.

33. The ancients made a great deal out of this emphasis. Tertullian, for example, wrote:
"The nations are set free from the world by means of the water (their baptism), and
the devil they leave quite behind overwhelmed in the water. How mighty is the grace
of water. Christ himself was baptized in water, demonstrated his power in water
when invited to the nuptials, invited the sinful to drink of the living water, cited a
cup of water as glorious among the works of charity, recruited his strength at a well,
and walked over the water; and even as he approached the cross, the water
witnessed his innocence when Pilate washed his hands!"[14]
COKE, "Verse 5
Exodus 14:5. It was told the king of Egypt, that the people fled— That is, were
flying away, and wholly removing out of the land. It appears from the whole tenor
of the history, that Pharaoh never intended absolutely to part with the Israelites;
and his disposition was such, that he never regarded his word or promise when the
hand of punishment was removed from him: but now, perceiving that the Israelites
were about to depart wholly from his kingdom, and the angel having ceased to
destroy the first-born, he returns to his old temper, and, accordingly, meets the
destruction which he so justly deserved.
CO STABLE, "Verses 5-14
This is the first of Israel"s many complaints against Moses and Yahweh that Moses
recorded in Scripture. It is the first of ten that culminated in God"s judgment of
them at Kadesh Barnea ( Exodus 14:11; umbers 14:22-23).
"This is the first example in the Old Testament of what some scholars call "holy
war" or "Yahweh war." That Isaiah , this war was undertaken by the Lord in
defense of His own reputation, promises, and self-interest ( Exodus 14:10-14; see
also, for example, Exodus 15:3; Deuteronomy 1:30; Deuteronomy 3:22;
Deuteronomy 20:4). It is to be distinguished from "ordinary" war that Israel might
undertake on her own ( umbers 14:39-45)." [ ote: Merrill, in The Old . . ., p54.]
ELLICOTT, "(5) The heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the
people.— o doubt the change began as soon as Israel commenced its march. The
emigration left Eastern Egypt a solitude, suspended all the royal works that were in
progress, threw the whole course of commerce and business into disorder.
Beforehand, neither the king nor the people had understood what the loss of six
hundred thousand labourers—some of them highly skilled—would be. When Israel
was gone they realised it; consequently both king and people regretted what they
had done.
PETT, "Exodus 14:5
‘And the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled. And the heart of Pharaoh
and of his servants was changed towards the people, and they said, “What is this we
have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” ’

34. It is clear that the reports or rumours coming back to Pharaoh probably suggested
that the children of Israel were not only going into the wilderness to worship but
were showing signs of a permanent departure. This made him and his high officials
finally rethink their position and they determined to bring them back immediately.
The recognition that they may have lost so many useful slaves was more than they
could bear.
“Was told that the people had fled.” That is, permanently. This was the suggestion
made by suspicious minds. It was how they saw it. We must not accuse Moses of
duplicity. It is probable that Moses intention was to follow out Yahweh’s orders
whatever they were. Thus he had not made up his mind one way or the other.
Whatever Yahweh said he would do it.
“Israel”. Pharaoh mostly speaks of ‘the children of Israel’ as ‘Israel’ (Exodus 5:2
but see Exodus 12:31).
BI 5-10, "The Egyptians marched after them.
Israel pursued
Notice some analogies between the flight of Israel from Egypt and the progress of the
sinner from the captivity of the devil. In both eases we have a debased condition of
mankind, a powerful enemy, a pursuing foe, a perilous road, a human ministry, and an
omnipotent and gracious Redeemer.
I. The state of Israel in Egypt was a state of the utmost abasement. Every sinner is a
slave. The wicked man serves a cruel master. He is watched on every hand; all his
movements are understood: every desire or aspiration after liberty is turned into an
occasion of augmented suffering. Wickedness reduces the volume and quality of
manhood. Every bad thought and every wicked deed is so much taken from the
completeness and dignity of human nature.
II. The enemy of israel was powerful. So with the great enemy of man. His resources are
all but inexhaustible. He is not confined to one series of temptations. The diabolic genius
in luring and seducing men to evil dispositions and courses is fertile beyond all parallel.
He assaults us through the flesh; he insinuates ruinous ideas into the mind; he secretly
touches the very fountains of life. He can touch our nature with a light hand, or he can
smite us with tremendous force.
III. Israel was pursued—so is the redeemed man. It is too frequently expected that when
a man forsakes his evil ways, he will at once become an exemplary saint. It is forgotten
that the devil relinquishes his hold reluctantly. Years upon years after our conversion to
God we are conscious of the presence of the old nature; there are sudden uprisings of
forces which we supposed to be extinct.
IV. There is an omnipotent and gracious redeemer. In the course of our Christian
experience we are often called upon simply to stand still. Herein is shown the tender
grace of the living Redeemer. We are weak, we are weary, and there is no more strength
left in us; at that point He says, “Waiting shall be accounted as serving, and standing still
as the progress of triumphant strength.” Israel was not self-redeemed, nor are we; Jesus
Christ is the angel of our redemption; trusting to His leadership, neither mountain nor
sea shall keep us back from the Canaan of God. (J. Parker, D. D.)

35. Difficulty in duty
I. Difficulty in duty deeply felt.
1. Our temporary well-being here greatly depends upon the conduct of our
contemporaries toward us.
2. The majority of our contemporaries are governed by corrupt principle,
3. The man, therefore, who carries out in his daily life the principles of duty, must
more or less excite the anger and create the antagonism of his contemporaries.
II. Difficulties in duty testing character.
1. Look at the influence of this difficulty upon the Israelites.
(1) Their cowardice.
(2) Their ingratitude.
(3) Their apostacy.
2. Look at the influences of difficulty upon Moses. He now rises into the majesty of
the hero.
III. Difficulty in duty Divinely overcome. Thus it is ever.
1. The nature of moral progress shows this.
2. The promises of God’s Word ensure this. (Homilist.)
The good pursued by old enemies
I. That the good, in seeking to come out of the bondage of sin, are frequently pursued by
old enemies.
1. Satan. He is powerful. He has great resources. He will arouse indwelling
corruption. To sense all seems dark. To faith all is bright. We cannot get to the
Promised Land without much resistance from the devil.
2. Wicked habits. The habits of youth are not easily conquered, hence they should be
carefully formed, or they may impair the Christian career of the future.
3. Wicked companions pursuing with taunts and slanders even to the banks of the
Red Sea. These are a terror to many a godly soul. Thus we see that Satan pursues the
good with a great army, with many allies, in splendid array, and often strikes fear
into their hearts.
II. That sometimes the circumstances of life appear to favour the pursuit of the old
enemies of the soul. “And overtook them encamping by the sea,” etc. The world in which
we live is a Pi-hahiroth, and the devil knows it: but the God who has brought us from
Egypt can bring us from before Pi-hahiroth, if we trust in Him—He is greater than the
pursuing enemies.
III. That the pursuit of the old enemies of the soul often awakens the sorrowful
apprehension of the good. “And when Pharaoh drew near . . . sore afraid.” How often
does it happen that when the good are followed by their old enemies, they forget the
mercies of the past, the power of God, and look only to the on-coming foe. They think

36. they will have to yield to the prowess of Satan, and go back to the old bondage of the
soul. But we see in this narrative the folly of allowing the advance of old enemies to
awaken terror in the heart of the good; for they are only advancing that the power of God
may be seen in their defeat. Good people of melancholy temperament sometimes think
that they made a mistake in coming out of Egypt, and that they will never reach Canaan.
Such fears are dishonouring to the grace of God.
IV. That the pursuit of the old enemies of the soul must be met under the guidance of
heaven. “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.” It is a blessed fact
that God adapts the method of His redemption to the weak condition of His people.
1. The enemies of the soul are overcome by God. He alone can give salvation from
the enmity of Satan, from the weakness of self, and from the perilous circumstances
of the wilderness life.
2. The soul must wait patiently the outcome of this aid. The good know not by what
method of discipline the Lord will deliver them from their old habits of evil. We see
here the advantage of having God as our Helper, in that He can make a way for our
feet through the sea.
Lessons:
1. That the good, being pursued by the enemies of their old life, are in constant need
of Divine grace.
2. That progress in the freedom of the soul is in spite of the enmity of Satan.
3. That all moral progress is the outcome of the help of God to the soul. (J. S. Exell,
M. A.)
Pursuit of the entangled
The things of the world are so many purveyors for Satan. When Pharaoh had let the
people go, he heard after a while that they were entangled in the wilderness, and
supposes that he shall, therefore, now overtake them and destroy them. This stirs him
up to pursue them. Satan, finding those whom he has been cast out from entangled in
the things of the world, by which he is sure to find an easy access unto them, is
encouraged to attempt upon them afresh, as the spider to come down upon the strongest
fly that is entangled in his web: for he comes by his temptations only to impel them unto
that whereunto by their own lusts they are inclined, by adding poison to their lusts, and
painting to the objects of them. And oftentimes by this advantage he gets so in upon the
souls of men, that they are never well free of him more whilst they live. And as men’s
diversions increase from the world, so do their entanglements from Satan. When they
have more to do in the world than they can well manage, they shall have more to do from
Satan than they can well withstand. When men are made spiritually faint, Satan sets on
them as Amalek did on the faint and weak of the people that came out of Egypt. (J.
Owen, D. D.)

37. 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his
army with him.
GILL, "And he made ready his chariot,.... Which he usually rode in when he went
forth to war; for this seems to be a military chariot, and not for show or grandeur; and
this was got ready not by himself, as Jarchi, but rather by his orders, as Aben Ezra:
and took his people with him; the Greek version reads, "all his people"; not all his
subjects, but his soldiers; at least a great number, and especially his cavalry.
HE RY 6-9, "He resolves, if possible, either to reduce them or to be revenged on
them; in order to this, he levies an army, musters all his force of chariots and horsemen,
Exo_14:17, Exo_14:18 (for, it should seem, he took no foot with him, because the king's
business required haste), and thus he doubts not but he shall re-enslave them, Exo_14:6,
Exo_14:7. It is easy to imagine what a rage Pharaoh was now in, roaring like a lion
disappointed of his prey, how his proud heart aggravated the affront, swelled with
indignation, scorned to be baffled, longed to be revenged: and now all the plagues are as
if they had never been. He has quite forgotten the sorrowful funerals of his firstborn, and
can think of nothing but making Israel feel his resentments; now he thinks he can be too
hard for God himself; for, otherwise, could he have hoped to conquer a people so dear to
him? God gave him up to these passions of his own heart, and so hardened it. It is said
(Exo_14:8), The children of Israel went out with a high hand, that is, with a great deal of
courage and bravery, triumphing in their release, and resolved to break through the
difficulties that lay in their way. But the Egyptians (Exo_14:9) pursued after them.
Note, Those that in good earnest set their faces heaven-ward, and will live godly in Christ
Jesus, must expect to be set upon by Satan's temptations and terrors. He will not tamely
part with any out of his service, nor go out without raging, Mar_9:26.
JAMISO 6-7, "he made ready his chariot — His preparations for an immediate
and hot pursuit are here described: A difference is made between “the chosen chariots”
and “the chariots of Egypt.” The first evidently composed the king’s guard, amounting to
six hundred, and they are called “chosen,” literally, “third men”; three men being allotted
to each chariot, the charioteer and two warriors. As to “the chariots of Egypt,” the
common cars contained only two persons, one for driving and the other for fighting;
sometimes only one person was in the chariot, the driver lashed the reins round his body
and fought; infantry being totally unsuitable for a rapid pursuit, and the Egyptians
having had no cavalry, the word “riders” is in the grammatical connection applied to war
chariots employed, and these were of light construction, open behind, and hung on small
wheels.

38. CALVI , "6.And he made ready his chariot. Moses briefly describes the warlike
preparation of Pharaoh, not only to magnify the greatness of God’s power in
delivering the people, but also to show with what violent and obstinate audacity the
wicked go forwards, when they give way to their depraved and criminal lusts. Just
now the Egyptians were almost frightened to death, and cried out that all was over
with them; scarcely has a day passed, when they collect a powerful army as if their
forces were uninjured. If any object that 600 chariots, and even many more,
although filled with armed men, were insufficient to conquer 600,000 men: I reply,
that, since they knew that the battle would be with an unwarlike multitude, amongst
which, too, women and children were mingled, they relied on this consideration, and
hoped that they would have no difficulty in routing this enormous number, since it
was both inexperienced and undisciplined. or would their hope have been
disappointed, had not God been against them. But the event, proved how truly
Solomon says,
“There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel against the Lord,” (Proverbs
21:30;)
and how justly Isaiah defies the enemies of the Church:
“Associate yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall
be broken in pieces; take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the
word, and it shall not stand.” (Isaiah 8:9.)
For this presumption brings the wicked to naught; and, whilst they rush forward
with unbridled violence, they conceive not that God has a secret bridle to restrain
their lusts.
PETT, "Exodus 14:6-9
‘And he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. And he took six
hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over all of
them. And Yahweh made Pharaoh’s heart strong, and he pursued after the children
of Israel, for the children of Israel went out with a high hand, and the Egyptians
pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen and
his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth before Baal-
zephon.’
Pharaoh’s preparations reveal that he was still in awe of Yahweh. He gathered a
large force of Egyptians and pursued them, and eventually his scouts told him that
they had been spotted in the distance and that they had ‘overtaken’ them, that is,
had come within contactable range of them.
“He made ready his chariot.” Pharaoh was determined that he would personally go
with his army. He had his chariot made ready.
“He took six hundred chosen chariots.” These were no doubt his elite force. The

39. number six hundred indicates full completeness three doubled for intensity times ‘a
hundred’). It is probably the writer’s intention that we see this as one to each of the
groups of Israel (13:37). Each chariot would carry a driver and a fighting man. It
may be that a ‘hundred’ represents a fighting group (compare 2 Samuel 18:1 and
the ‘century’ under the centurion in the later Roman legions). Thus there would be
six elite fighting groups.
“And all the chariots of Egypt.” Speed was necessary. But the elite chariot group
was reinforced by summoning all other available chariots. Pharaoh was taking no
chances. What a terrifying sight this would be to the children of Israel. What chance
would they, untrained and badly armed slaves, have against this supreme force?
“Captains over all of them.” The word for captains can mean ‘a third’. However in
its use it can clearly mean someone of some considerable importance militarily. In 2
Samuel 23:8 it is used of the mighty men of David. In 1 Kings 9:22 they come after
‘the princes’ and are superior to ‘the rulers of his chariots’. In 2 Kings 7:2 it refers
to the man on whose arm the king leans. Thus Pharaoh is taking his elite
commanders.
“And his horsemen.” Possibly although not necessarily those who drove the chariots
rather than cavalry.
Possibly accompanying the chariots were part of the main Egyptian army. The
latter, however, would have to follow behind the speedy chariots with a view to
catching up later (see Exodus 14:23). They would be necessary in order to escort
back what remained of the defeated and dispirited Israelites.
“Yahweh made Pharaoh”s heart strong.’ Paradoxically this explains why he was
able to overcome his dread of Yahweh. Yahweh’s act of hardening hearts is
mentioned three times (Exodus 14:4; Exodus 14:8; Exodus 14:17) indicating the
completeness of His activity.
“For the children of Israel went out with a high hand.” This was Pharaoh’s view of
the position. They had become high handed and were taking the opportunity of
deserting. Alternatively RSV translates ‘triumphantly’. Thus it may be a contrast to
explain why Pharaoh took such a large force. He had to deal with a newly confident
people. But the next verses suggest otherwise. Or it may signify that they went out
by the hand of Yahweh.
7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along

40. with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers
over all of them.
BAR ES, "Six hundred chosen chariots - The Egyptian army comprised large
numbers of chariots, each drawn by two horses, with two men, one bearing the shield
and driving, the other fully armed. The horses were thoroughbred, renowned for
strength and spirit. Chariots are first represented on the monuments of the 18th
dynasty. By “all the chariots of Egypt” we are to understand all that were stationed in
Lower Egypt, most of them probably at Rameses and other frontier garrisons near the
headquarters of Pharaoh.
Captains - The word ‫שׁלישׁ‬ shâlıysh, literally “third or thirtieth,” may represent an
Egyptian title. The king had about him a council of thirty, each of whom bore a title,
Mapu, a “thirty man.” The word occurs frequently in the Books of Kings. David seems to
have organized the Shalishim as a distinct corps (see 2Sa_23:8 Hebrew), retaining the
old name, and adopting the Egyptian system.
CLARKE, "Six hundred chosen chariots, etc. - According to the most authentic
accounts we have of war-chariots, they were frequently drawn by two or by four horses,
and carried three persons: one was charioteer, whose business it was to guide the horses,
but he seldom fought; the second chiefly defended the charioteer; and the third alone
was properly the combatant. It appears that in this case Pharaoh had collected all the
cavalry of Egypt; (see Exo_14:17); and though these might not have been very numerous,
yet, humanly speaking, they might easily overcome the unarmed and encumbered
Israelites, who could not be supposed to be able to make any resistance against cavalry
and war-chariots.
GILL, "And he took six hundred chosen chariots,.... The chief and best he had,
war chariots, chariots of iron; perhaps such as had iron scythes to them, to cut down
men as they drove along; these were taken partly for quickness of dispatch, that they
might be able the sooner to overtake the Israelites, who had got several days' marches
before them; and partly for their strength and the annoyance of their enemies with
them:
and all the chariots of Egypt: as many as could in so short a time be got together: for
the words are not to be taken in the utmost latitude, but to signify a great number, and
all that could be conveniently come at: the Greek version is, "all the horse", the cavalry,
which better distinguishes them from the former:
and captains over everyone of them: over everyone of the chariots, so that they

41. must each of them have many in them, to have captains over them: and perhaps the
infantry, or foot soldiers, for, quickness of expedition, were put into them; for, besides
these, there were horsemen: Josephus (p) makes the whole number of his army to be
50,000 horse, and 200,000 foot, and the same number is given by a Jewish chronologer
(q): but Patricides, an Arabic writer, says (r) it consisted of 600,000, and Ezekiel (s), the
tragic poet, has made it amount to a million of horse and foot: should it be asked where
horses could be had to draw the chariots, and horses for the horsemen after mentioned,
when all were destroyed by the hail, Exo_9:25 it may be replied, that only those in the
field were killed, not such as were in stables, where chariot horses and horses for war
may be supposed to be: besides, as the Targum of Jonathan intimates, these might
belong to these servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord, and took their
cattle home, Exo_9:20.
BE SO , "Exodus 14:7. Six hundred chosen chariots — The strength of ancient
Egypt, which is a plain country, consisted in cavalry and military chariots. Indeed, it
appears from sundry passages of Scripture, that the eastern nations in general, in
the early ages of the world, made great use of armed chariots in war. Captains over
every one of them — Or rather over all of them, distributing the command of them
to his several captains.
COKE, "Exodus 14:7. He took six hundred chosen chariots— These six hundred,
most probably, were those which appertained to the king's guard, and were always
ready to attend him, being the very choice and strength of his army. Besides these, it
is said, he took all the chariots of Egypt. Chariots were very early, and especially in
the eastern countries, used in war; we read of them as quite common in Homer:
Xenophon says, they were usually drawn by four horses. Egypt was a plain country,
and very fit for them; and accordingly we read that its strength consisted in them. 2
Chronicles 12:3. Isaiah 31:1. If these chariots were all drawn by four horses, the
number required on this occasion must have been very great; and as it is said, ch.
Exodus 9:6 that all their cattle was destroyed, some have wondered whence they
should have procured so many. But it is to be observed, that this is said only of the
cattle which was in the field; the cavalry, as is usual, being kept in stables, and so
preserved. "Of all the infatuated resolutions (to use the words of the learned Dr.
Jackson, b. 10: ch. 11.) which either king or people adventured on, the pursuing the
Israelites with such a mighty army, after they had so intreated and urged them to
leave their country, may well seem, to every indifferent reader, the most stupid that
ever was taken;" and so, indeed, the author of the Book of Wisdom, ch. Exodus 19:3
justly censures it: for whilst they were yet mourning, says he, and making
lamentation at the graves of the dead, they added another foolish device, and
pursued them, as fugitives, whom they had intreated to be gone. But how much
soever the Egyptians had suffered for detaining the Hebrews, yet, now that they
were gone, they possibly might be of the same mind with the Syrians; (1 Kings
20:23.) who fancied that the God of Israel might not be alike powerful in all places;
or, if he was, they might, nevertheless, think that Moses's commission extended no
farther than the meridian of Egypt; or that, if it did, it might, however, have no
power over mighty hosts and armies. They knew, at least, that the Israelites had no
skill in military matters; no captains of infantry, no cavalry at all, no weapons or

42. engines of war; whereas they were well furnished, and equipped with every thing of
this nature: and upon these, and the like presumptions, it was that they became
foolhardy and desperately resolute, either to bring back the Israelites to their
slavery, or to be revenged upon them for all the losses they had sustained, and the
penalties they had suffered. See Patrick's Commentary.
ELLICOTT, "(7) Six hundred chosen chariots.—The chariot force was that on
which the Egyptians chiefly relied for victory from the beginning of the eighteenth
dynasty. Diodorus Siculus assigns to his Sesostris (probably Rameses II.) a force of
27,000 chariots; but this is, no doubt, an exaggeration. The largest number of
chariots brought together on any one occasion that is sufficiently attested, is
believed by the present writer to be 3,940, which were collected by various
confederates against an Assyrian king (Ancient Monarchies, vol. ii, p. 103, ote). In
1 Samuel 13:5, 30,000 chariots are mentioned, no doubt by some numerical error. A
force of 2,500 is said by Rameses II. to have been brought against him in his great
Hittite campaign (Records of the Past, vol. ii., pp. 69, 71). Sheshonk I. (Shishak)
invaded Judaea with 1,200 (2 Chronicles 12:3). The “six hundred chosen chariots”
of the present passage are thus quite within the limits of probability. Most likely
they constituted a division of the royal guard, and were thus always at the king’s
disposal.
And all the chariots of Egypt.—The word “all” must not be pressed. The writer
means “all that were available—that could be readily summoned.” These could only
be the chariots of Lower Egypt—those stationed at Memphis, Heliopolis, Bubastis,
Pithom, Sebennytus perhaps, and Pelusium. They would probably amount to
several hundreds.
Captains over every one of them.—Rather, over the whole of them. These
“captains” are again mentioned in Exodus 15:4. The word in the original—a
derivative from the numeral three—is supposed to have meant, primarily, “persons
occupying the third rank below the king.”
8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of
Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were
marching out boldly.

43. GILL, "And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt,.... As he
said he would, Exo_14:4,
and he pursued after the children of Israel; took their rout in pursuit of them:
and the children of Israel went out with an high hand: not once dreaming they
should be pursued by Pharaoh as an enemy, when they went out with his full consent,
and with such pressing solicitations to be gone, and with so much favour shown them by
the Egyptians; wherefore they set out, and went on with great boldness, courage, and
intrepidity; "with an uncovered head", as the Targum of Onkelos, without any fear, and
with great alacrity and cheerfulness; they carried both their heads and their hands high,
were fearless and thoughtless of any danger when this mighty preparation was making
against them.
CALVI , "8.And the children of Israel went out. (153) Moses indirectly reproves
their too great security, which had freed them altogether from care and fear; and
whence even the desire of calling on God had grown cold in them, as security always
produces drowsiness and an idle spirit. Hence it came to pass, that this great danger,
which they had not expected. produced the greater fear. But, on the other hand,
Moses exalts God’s grace, because he so opportunely and so critically came to the
help of the wretched Israelites exulting in their foolish joy; for otherwise, being
suddenly overtaken, they would have fallen at once into confusion at the first shout
of the enemy. Thus are we admonished by this example, that, while we are safe
under God’s protection, the dangers, which might happen, are to be apprehended,
not that we may be anxious and alarmed, but that we may humbly repose under His
wings, and not be uplifted with inconsiderate joy. In the next verse Moses briefly
relates, how formidable a sight presented itself to the Israelites, when they saw
themselves shut in on one part by the sea, ingulfed, as it were, on both sides by the
jaws of the defile, and the army of Pharaoh at the same time pressing upon them. He
expressly mentions the strength of this army, in order that the glory of the aid
divinely afforded them might more fully appear from the opposition.
BE SO ,"Exodus 14:8. With a high hand — Boldly and resolutely. It seems the
latter part of the verse had better be rendered, even the children of Israel, going
away with a high hand, or, in other words, in spite of him.
COKE, "Exodus 14:8. The children of Israel went out with an high hand— This
may be rendered, agreeably, to the Hebrew, pursued after the children of Israel,
even the children of Israel going out with an high hand; that is, in an uncontrouled
manner, independent upon, and defying the Egyptians. See 2 Samuel 20:21. The
Chaldee renders it, with uncovered or open head; that is, boldly, cheerfully. 2
Samuel 15:30. Jeremiah 14:4.

44. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and
chariots, horsemen[a] and troops—pursued the
Israelites and overtook them as they camped by
the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.
GILL, "But the Egyptians pursued after them,.... When they thought nothing of
it, and had no fears about it:
all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army; by
the latter Aben Ezra understands the foot, as distinguished from the cavalry, the horses
and horsemen; and perhaps these, as before observed, might be carried in the chariots
for quicker dispatch:
and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before
Baalzephon; where they had pitched their camp by divine appointment, Exo_14:2.
BE SO ,"Exodus 14:9-10. Chariots and horsemen — It seems he took no foot with
him, because the king’s business required haste. The children of Israel cried out
unto the Lord — Partly by petition, and partly by complaint and expostulation;
probably, however, more from despair than trust in God, for they were sore afraid,
and their fears were aggravated by the presence and outcries of their wives and
children. They knew the strength of the enemy, and their own weakness; numerous
indeed they were, but all foot, unarmed, undisciplined, dispirited by long servitude,
and now pent up, so that they could not escape. On one hand was Pi-hahiroth, a
range of craggy rocks unpassable; on the other hand were Migdol and Baal-zephon,
forts upon the frontiers of Egypt; before them was the sea, behind them were the
Egyptians; so that there was no way open for them but upward, and thence their
deliverance came.
COKE, "Exodus 14:9. By the sea— This sea, which has been mentioned frequently
before, is commonly called the Red-sea, or the sea of Suph; which is supposed to be
a species of alga, or a marine moss. But Robert Southwell, being at Lisbon, learnt
there, from the mouth of an able jesuit, (who had travelled into Ethiopia, and made
a voyage on the Red-sea,) the following remarkable particular. The jesuit had seen
the Red-sea covered with reddish spots, and he derives from the colour of them, that
name which the Greeks gave to it. The particles of these spots proceed from a plant,
like to that which is called sargazo; and it is fixed by its root to the bottom of the sea,
while its leaves float upon the surface. An Indian, whom they caused in their
presence to dive into the sea, brought up such a sufficient quantity of this plant, that

45. it was immediately perceived to be the marine vegetable, which is called by the
Egyptians supho. Hence, it is evident, that it is the true suph of the Hebrews, and
that hence comes the name which they have given to the Red-sea; and what is
decisive is, that even still it has the very same name in the Ethiopian language.
REFLECTIO S.— ow the Egyptians begin to recover from their fright, accuse
their own folly in parting with their slaves, and call their march a flight, though
themselves had thrust them out: so easily can misrepresentations be made.
Hereupon they determine, horse and chariots, to pursue and bring them back to the
house of their prison; encouraged by the dangerous encampment they had made,
where they quickly found them, and promised themselves an easy prey. ote; (1.)
They who are merely frightened by God's word, will quickly be sorry for the little
good they did, and be ashamed even of their pretended repentance. (2.) He that will
escape out of a sinful world, must expect a hot pursuit from the devil and his
servants. (3.) He that brings us out with a high hand, can bear us up with
everlasting strength.
ELLICOTT, "(9) All the horses and chariots of Pharaoh.—Heb., all the chariot-
horses of Pharaoh.
And his horsemen.—It is questioned whether “horsemen” are really intended here,
and suggested that the word used may apply to the “riders” in the chariots. But it
certainly means “horsemen” in the later books of Scripture, and, indeed, is the only
Hebrew word having exactly that signification. Though the Egyptians do not
represent cavalry in any of their battle pieces, yet there is abundant testimony that
they employed them. Diodorus Siculus gives his Sesostris 24,000 cavalry to 27,000
chariots (Book i. 54, § 4). Shishak invaded Judæa with 60,000 (2 Chronicles 12:3).
Herodotus makes Amasis lead an army on horseback (ii. 162). The Egyptian
monuments appear to make frequent mention of cavalry as forming a portion of the
armed force. (Records of the Past, vol. ii., pp. 68, 70, 72, 83, &c, vol. iv., 41, 44, 45,
&c.) It is suspected that some conventional rules of art prevented the representation
of cavalry in the sculptures, which never show us an Egyptian, and but rarely a
foreigner, on horseback.
And his army—i.e., his infantry. The host of this Pharaoh, like that of Shishak (2
Chronicles 12:3), consisted apparently of the three arms, cavalry infantry, and
chariots.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked
up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after

46. them. They were terrified and cried out to the
Lord.
CLARKE, "The children of Israel cried out unto the Lord - Had their prayer
been accompanied with faith, we should not have found them in the next verses
murmuring against Moses, or rather against the Lord, through whose goodness they
were now brought from under that bondage from which they had often cried for
deliverance. Calmet thinks that the most pious and judicious cried unto God, while the
unthinking and irreligious murmured against Moses.
GILL, "And when Pharaoh drew nigh,.... Or "caused to draw nigh" (t); that is, his
army, brought it very near to the camp of the Israelites:
the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians
marched after them; in great numbers, with full speed, threatening them with utter
destruction:
and they were sore afraid; being an unarmed people, though numerous, and so
unable to defend themselves against armed and disciplined troops; and besides, through
their long time of slavery their spirits were broken, and were a mean, abject, dispirited
people; and especially were so on the sight of the Egyptians, whom they had so many
years looked upon and served as their lords and masters:
and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord: had they prayed unto him in
this their distress for help and assistance, protection and preservation, with an holy and
humble confidence in him for it, they had acted a right and laudable part; but their
crying out to him seems to be only an outcry of the troubles they were in, and rather the
effect of despair than of faith and hope; and was by way of complaint and lamentation of
their miserable condition and circumstances, as appears by what follows, which shows
what temper of mind they were in.
HE RY 10-12, "We have here, I. The fright that the children of Israel were in when
they perceived that Pharaoh pursued them, Exo_14:10. They knew very well the strength
and rage of the enemy, and their own weakness; numerous indeed they were, but all on
foot, unarmed, undisciplined, disquieted by long servitude, and (which was worst of all)
now penned up by the situation of their camp, so that they could not make their escape.
On the one hand was Pi-hahiroth, a range of craggy rocks impassable; on the other hand
were Migdol and Baalzephon, which, some think were forts and garrisons upon the
frontiers of Egypt; before them was the sea; behind them were the Egyptians: so that
there was no way open for them but upwards, and thence their deliverance came. Note,
We may be in the way of our duty, following God and hastening towards heaven, and yet
may be in great straits, troubled on every side, 2Co_4:8. In this distress, no marvel that

47. the children of Israel were sorely afraid; their father Jacob was so in a like case (Gen_
32:7); when without are fightings, it cannot be otherwise but that within are fears: what
therefore was the fruit of this fear? According as that was, the fear was good or evil. 1.
Some of them cried out unto the Lord; their fear set them a praying, and that was a good
effect of it. God brings us into straits that he may bring us to our knees. 2. Others of
them cried out against Moses; their fear set them a murmuring, Exo_14:11, Exo_14:12.
They give up themselves for lost; and as if God's arm were shortened all of a sudden, and
he were not as able to work miracles today as he was yesterday, they despair of
deliverance, and can count upon nothing but dying in the wilderness. How inexcusable
was their distrust! Did they not see themselves under the guidance and protection of a
pillar from heaven? And can almighty power fail them, or infinite goodness be false to
them? Yet this was not the worst; they quarrel with Moses for bringing them out of
Egypt, and, in quarrelling with him, fly in the face of God himself, and provoke him to
wrath whose favour was now the only succour they had to flee to. As the Egyptians were
angry with themselves for the best deed they ever did, so the Israelites were angry with
God for the greatest kindness that was ever done them; so gross are the absurdities of
unbelief. They here express, (1.) A sordid contempt of liberty, preferring servitude before
it, only because it was attended with some difficulties. A generous spirit would have said,
“If the worst come to the worst,” as we say, “It is better to die in the field of honour than
to live in the chains of slavery;” nay, under God's conduct, they could not miscarry, and
therefore they might say, “Better live God's freemen in the open air of a wilderness than
the Egyptians' bondmen in the smoke of the brick-kilns.” But because, for the present,
they are a little embarrassed, they are angry that they were not left buried alive in their
house of bondage. (2.) Base ingratitude to Moses, who had been the faithful instrument
of their deliverance. They condemn him, as if he had dealt hardly and unkindly with
them, whereas it was evident, beyond dispute, that whatever he did, and however it
issued, it was by direction from their God, and with design for their good. What they had
said in a former ferment (when they hearkened not to Moses for anguish of spirit), they
repeat and justify in this: We said in Egypt, Let us alone; and it was ill-said, yet more
excusable, because then they had not had so much experience as they had now of God's
wonderful appearances in their favour. But they had as soon forgotten the miracles of
mercy as the Egyptians had forgotten the miracles of wrath; and they, as well as the
Egyptians, hardened their hearts, at last, to their own ruin; as Egypt after ten plagues, so
Israel after ten provocations, of which this was the first (Num_14:22), were sentenced to
die in the wilderness.
JAMISO , "when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their
eyes — The great consternation of the Israelites is somewhat astonishing, considering
their vast superiority in numbers, but their deep dismay and absolute despair at the
sight of this armed host receives a satisfactory explanation from the fact that the
civilized state of Egyptian society required the absence of all arms, except when they
were on service. If the Israelites were entirely unarmed at their departure, they could not
think of making any resistance [Wilkinson and Hengstenberg].
K&D 10-12, "When the Israelites saw the advancing army of the Egyptians, they were
greatly alarmed; for their situation to human eyes was a very unfortunate one. Shut in on
the east by the sea, on the south and west by high mountains, and with the army of the
Egyptians behind them, destruction seemed inevitable, since they were neither
outwardly armed nor inwardly prepared for a successful battle. Although they cried unto
the Lord, they had no confidence in His help, notwithstanding all the previous

48. manifestation so the fidelity of the true God; they therefore gave vent to the despair of
their natural heart in complaints against Moses, who had brought them out of the
servitude of Egypt to give them up to die in the desert. “Hast thou, because there were
no graves at all (‫ין‬ ֵ‫א‬ ‫י‬ ִ‫ל‬ ְ ִ‫,מ‬ a double negation to give emphasis) in Egypt, fetched us to die
in the desert?” Their further words in Exo_14:12 exaggerated the true state of the case
from cowardly despair. For it was only when the oppression increased, after Moses' first
interview with Pharaoh, that they complained of what Moses had done (Exo_5:21),
whereas at first they accepted his proposals most thankfully (Exo_4:31), and even
afterwards implicitly obeyed his directions.
CALVI , "10.And when Pharaoh drew nigh. Moses implies that the alarm was
greater from its suddenness, because no messenger had preceded, so that a very
short time indeed was given them for preparation. There was, then, just ground for
fear even in the bravest hearts, unless there had been something very extraordinary
about them. But they sinned doubly; because both the hope of divine assistance had
abandoned their hearts together with the recollection of God’s mercies; and they
advanced to such an extent of ingratitude as to revolt insolently against God and
Moses. Although there is an appearance of two contrary facts being here reported,
viz., that they cried out unto the Lord, and mutinied against His minister; yet we
may easily gather that this cry neither arose from faith nor from serious and! well-
ordered affections, but that it was extorted by a confused impulse; since the natural
sense impels all men, in their adversity, promiscuously to offer their prayers to God,
although they neither embrace His mercy nor rely on His power. Thus David, in
Psalms 107:0, says that all the distressed have recourse to God when any trouble
oppresses them; because God, by the leadings of nature and by secret instinct,
draws them to Him in their danger, in order that the most careless and most profane
may be rendered more inexcusable. Yet in this way do they not render due honor to
God, although by the utterance of their mouths they ask for safety from Him. It is,
then, little to be wondered at, that the Israelites being reduced to such sore anxiety
should have offered prayers and vows accompanied with God’s name; especially
since He had recently manifested Himself to them in so many miracles, and they
always had in sight the cloud, or the pillar of fire. But their insane cries against
Moses were plain proof that, as in amazement, they had thoughtlessly hastened to
call upon the name of God. For the exposition (154) is unreasonable which some
give, that certain of them piously prayed to God, whilst others of the multitude
wickedly mutinied against Moses; because these two statements are made in
conjunction, and cannot be referred to different persons.
COFFMA , "Verses 10-14
"And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and,
behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and they were sore afraid: and the
children of Israel cried unto Jehovah. 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 bring us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we
spake unto thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians?
For it were better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the
wilderness. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the

49. salvation of Jehovah, which he will work for you today: for the Egyptians whom ye
have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever. Jehovah shall fight for
you, and ye shall hold your peace."
"They were sore afraid ..." From the human standpoint, they had every right to be
afraid. The situation, apart from God's intervention, was absolutely hopeless.
"The children of Israel cried unto Jehovah ..." They not only did this; they
murmured and complained bitterly against Moses; and from this, we must assume
that some of them cried unto Jehovah, and that others among them did the
complaining.
"Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us ...?" Moses was to hear a lot of
complaining before his leadership of Israel was concluded, but Moses was a man of
magnificent patience, understanding, and forgiveness. His great love for Israel was
to reach its climax later, when he offered himself to die in the place of Israel,
prevailing with God Himself to spare them when they richly deserved the death with
which God threatened them.
This murmuring at the Red Sea was sufficiently serious to evoke the words in
Psalms 106:7,8:
"Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the
multitude of thy loving-kindnesses, but were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red
Sea. evertheless, He saved them for His name's sake, that He might make His
mighty power to be known."
"Better to serve the Egyptians ... than ... die in the wilderness ..." The people of
Israel had been too long in slavery to have much of the attitude that has always
characterized free men. Today (as of June 5,1984) the license plates for automobiles
issued by the State of ew Hampshire carry the motto, "Live free or die." What the
Israelites were saying to Moses was an ancient equivalent of "Better Red than
Dead!"
Moses' response to the situation actually had five elements: (1) Fear not; (2) Stand
firm; (3) See God's salvation; (4) Jehovah will fight for you; and (5) Shut up! "Hold
your peace!" It should be noted that "Stand still" had no reference whatever to an
order to "Do nothing." We cannot believe that Moses meant anything like that; but,
even if he did, God thundered it into his ears at once, "Command the people to `Go
Forward.'" One of the basic meanings of "stand still" is that of "stationing one's
self, or taking a stand."[15]
COKE, "Exodus 14:10. And they were sore afraid— We shall have frequent
occasions to remark this unbelieving and pusillanimous spirit in the Israelites; who,
though they had seen to many miracles wrought in their favour, and though they
came forth from Egypt with so high an hand, Exodus 14:8 no sooner saw danger
before them, than their hearts fainted, and they forgot that Jehovah had already
done so great things for them. It is said, they cried out unto the Lord; but not with

50. the cry of supplication and faith, as the context proves. Theirs was the language of
timidity and despair: Is not this the word, say they, Exodus 14:12 that we did tell
thee in Egypt? &c. See ch. Exodus 5:21, Exodus 6:9.
ELLICOTT, "(10) The children of Israel . . . were sore afraid.—It has been objected
that 600,000 men above twenty years of age had no need to be afraid of such an
army as the Pharaoh could have hastily gathered. The entire armed force of Egypt is
reckoned by Herodotus () at 410,000, and it is tolerably clear that not one-half of
these could have been mustered. It would imply, indeed, more facility of
mobilisation than we should have expected in this early age, if Pharaoh was able to
bring 100,000 men into the field upon a sudden emergency. Why, then, it is asked,
should the Israelites have been “sore afraid” of a force but one-sixth of their
number? Were they “arrant cowards?” The answer is that the Egyptian army,
whatever its number, was composed of trained soldiers, well-armed and used to
war; the 600,000 Israelites were, in the main, unarmed, ignorant of warfare, and
trained very imperfectly. Above a million Persian soldiers were defeated and
slaughtered like sheep by 47,000 Graeco-Macedonians at Arbela. A similar result
would, humanly speaking, have followed on a conflict between the Israelites and the
Egyptians at Pi-hahiroth. The fear of the former was therefore perfectly legitimate.
The children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.—If Israel had been unduly timid—
which we have shown not to have been the case—at any rate they knew where to
make their appeal for succour. There is no help like that of Jehovah.
TRAPP, "Exodus 14:10 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.
Ver. 10. And they were sore afraid.] Because sorely distressed. They saw no way to
escape, unless they could have gone up to heaven: which because they could not,
heaven came down to them, though unworthy, that God might get him a name.
[Isaiah 63:12; Isaiah 63:14] The Israelites herein were far more happy than those
ancient Britons, who, being greatly distressed by their northern enemies in the time
of Valentinian III, implored the aid of Aetius, the Roman prefect of Gaul, using
these words: "To Aetius, thrice consul, the sighs of the Britons": and after thus they
complain, "The barbarous enemy beats us to the sea; the sea beats us back to the
enemy: between these two kinds of deaths, we are either murdered or drowned." (a)
But their implorations prevailed not. either found they any other remedy than
what the Prince of Orange showed to his soldiers at the battle of ewport; when
they had the sea on one side and the Spaniards on the other. If, saith he, you will
live, you must either eat up these Spaniards, or drink up this sea. (b)
PETT, "Exodus 14:10-12
‘And when Pharaoh drew near the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and
behold, the Egyptians came after them, and they were terrified, and the children of
Israel cried out to Yahweh. And they said to Moses, “Did you take us out to die in

51. the wilderness because there were no graves in Egypt? Why have you dealt with us
like this, to bring us out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt
saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians.’ For it would be better for us
to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”
When the children of Israel saw the approaching Egyptian chariot forces they were
terrified and cried out to Yahweh. But this was in fear, not in hope. They clearly
expected no help for they then turned on Moses and criticised him bitterly. They
forgot what Yahweh had already done through Moses. This serves to demonstrate
how subservient they had become. They were cowed. They had no pride, only fear.
It would take much to change their outlook on life. When we tend to criticise them
we must remember how low they had come.
Their slave mentality then comes out. Rather than die proudly they were willing to
cringe before their masters. They now regretted that they had not remained as
slaves. How quickly their previous jubilation has turned to sourness and grief, for
they believe that the wilderness in which they find themselves will now be their
grave. Instead of jubilation they now remembered how they had constantly told
Moses to leave them alone in their misery. They were a people without heart and in
no condition to fight the Egyptians
Yet there was some justification for their fear. In front of them was an impassable
stretch of water. Border fortresses and mountains were on both sides. Behind them
were the powerful Egyptian chariotry. They had nowhere to go but into the sea.
PARKER, "Old Enemies Pursuing
Exodus 14:10
Some resemblances between the condition of the children of Israel in Egypt, in their
flight from the tyranny of Pharaoh, and the condition of man in sin and his escape
from the tyranny of the devil are obviously suggested. The state of Israel in Egypt
was one of the severest depression. At every point the Israelites were overborne;
their manhood was insulted; they had no rights, privileges or claims. Their time was
not their own. If ever they looked up complainingly into the face of the taskmaster,
their answer was another stroke of the lash. The light of their best nature was put
out, and they were treated simply as beasts of burden. The political condition of
Israel in Egypt in these particulars very fitly resembles the spiritual condition of
man in a state of sin. However loud may be his boasting, he is a slave; however
much he may think he has liberty which he can enjoy as he pleases, he can only go
the length of a chain. Sin is slavery; sin is continual oppression. o man who has
tasted of the bitterness of sin will contradict the statement, that a state of sin is a
state of exhausted manhood. All that is noble, true, pure, and beautiful has been
expelled from the nature; and there is nothing left behind but great gaps, blanks
and voids, which the world cannot fill, and what hopes remain are only turned to
the bitterness of disappointment and mortification. The enemy of Israel was
powerful. Pharaoh had everything at his command; a nod was law; the lifting of a

52. finger was equal to the extension of a sceptre; whenever Israel threatened to become
rebellious he could bring forces to bear upon the rising that could soon crush it. He
was powerful, they were weak; he was on the throne, they were under his feet— and
Pharaoh"s feet were heavy! The spiritual condition of mankind in a state of sin is
precisely the same. The enemy of man is powerful. When he is described by earthly
figures, those figures themselves are terrible. He is a roaring lion going about
seeking whom he may devour; he is a prince; he is the prince of the power of the air;
he has all but unlimited resources; his hand is heavy and cruel, his arm is long, and
we have no power to break it; he is subtle; he comes to us in a thousand ways we do
not dream of; he comes to us along the streaming of music; he looks at us through
the beauty of pictures; he meets us on the highway, smiles himself into our
confidence, entangles us in many peculiar combinations. And when we say, " ow
we shall be free," he says, "Will you?" o man who has lived deeply, who
understands life, who has seen below the outside of things, but knows that sin gets a
daily increasing power over him. The habit which to-day we can snap because it is
but half-formed, will, in the course of a few weeks, become so strong as to mock all
our strength. The young man says that he knows when to turn back. He may be
perfectly sincere in saying that he has that good knowledge,—but is his power equal
to his information? He says, "I will go down this way a certain distance; I will drink
so much worldly pleasure; I shall sit so long at the devil"s table; I shall just peep in
behind the curtain which conceals hell; and then I will come back again after I have
formed some idea of the reality of things in that direction." His purpose is very
good; he fully intends to do what he says, but the footprints which he made on the
road are rubbed out, and he has not gone down the road a mile before he loses all
his bearings; he knows not which is east, west, north, south; going back and going
forward are the same thing; he is locked up in the most terrible of jails—the prison
of darkness! I point out these things with this care, not to wound or shock anyone"s
sensibilities or tastes, but to show who it is that has the sinner under his foot, and
whose hand it is that strikes at everything good, and true, and beautiful in human
nature. The enemy of man is powerful.
Israel escaped from the hand of Pharaoh. By a strong and mighty deliverance Israel
was brought out from Egypt The Israelites had gone along the road of promise and
liberty so far, but they turned round to look back, and behold, the Egyptians were
after them! The Israelites had said, " ow we have escaped at last"; and behold the
breath of the destroyer was breathed upon their necks! That is precisely the case
with redeemed and liberated man in a spiritual sense. Upon this point I would speak
with a good deal of remonstrance in one direction and hopefulness in another. With
a good deal of remonstrance thus:
Here is a man who professes to have been redeemed from sin, and who has taken
upon himself the Christian profession, and there is one who is watching him at a
little distance who is expecting that the man will instantly step out of Egypt right
into Canaan; and because the man is weak and worn, and less than half himself,
some cruel word is used when he stumbles or falters a little! Is that right? Is that
decent? Look at the man"s condition, as typified by the circumstances. Israel in
Egypt bowed down,—the hand of cruel tyranny upon his neck,—the lash of cruel

53. oppression cutting his back to the bone. He has only been liberated a day. Do you
expect him to stand erect, as if he had been a man for half a century? This is
precisely what so many persons do in interpreting moral character and spiritual
profession. Let me suppose that, at the age of forty, you have been saved from your
sin; you have lifted up your face towards the light; you have taken the solemn
pledge in the name and strength of God to be good and to do good. But your forty
years" history is behind you,—forty years of moral exhaustion, forty years of
spiritual tyranny; and because you cannot step right out of Egypt into Paradise you
will find some persons who will mock you, and will say, "Ha, ha! Is this your piety?
I thought you had become a Christian now. Is this your Christianity?" The mocker
is never wanting in the good man"s path. Those who have the cruel gift of taunting
are never wanting to mock men who would live well, who would go in the right
direction, and hold their worn faces and their streaming eyes towards the light of
God.
I would speak hopefully. I would remind you that you cannot expect to escape from
all your old associations in a moment. I would speak hopefully, because I know some
of you have been distressed by the uprising of forces in your heart which you
thought had been settled and quenched for ever. A man cannot throw off his old
past as he can throw off an old garment; he cannot strip himself and throw the old
slave into the fire, and say, " ow I will begin at this point, and never have any
connection with the past." Old slaveries, old tyrannies, old recollections, and habits,
and companionships, will assert themselves in one way or another. It is more than a
step from hell to heaven. You are now a professor of Christianity. Let me suppose
you are sincere in your profession. You are ardent in your pursuit of Christian
knowledge, you omit no opportunity of improving your spiritual faculties, you pray,
you search the Scriptures, you attend helpful ministries; and yet you say, just when
you think you are becoming safe and can take a little rest, and enjoy somewhat of
the beauty and prospect of the scene,—just then the old devil, that you had
supposed to be dead, turns over in your heart! It is not unnatural, it is not some
strange thing that has happened to you. It is a long way from evil to goodness, from
darkness to light, from the depths of sin to the highest attainments of grace! There
will be many a struggle, many a reappearance of your old self; your old self will
become a thousand ghosts, and they will frighten you. It is so with us all. We think
now, after this lesson or that prayer, or some well-accepted appointments of God,
that at last we have attained, and are something like already perfect; and suddenly
an unexpected event occurs, and, to our own surprise, we find that, notwithstanding
our hope of rest, we are in some respects as weak and as bad as ever we we"re—I
am. I am no separated priest; but a Prayer of Manasseh , a fellow-sufferer. I know
this, and my heart cries over it bitterly; because it seems as though one never could
be at rest, and never could say that we are complete and beyond the region of fear.
In some directions we are so happy, so buoyant, so full of glad expectancy, and
softened and chastened by the most hallowed influences, and yet in a moment we
slip right down, back again into the old Egypt, where our condemnation was written
in the dust, and the air was filled with the voice of our torment.
And there are persons who mock us! When a Christian man makes any slip at all,

54. you know how bitter is the taunt that is levelled against him, as though he ought to
have stepped clear out of Egypt right up to the throne of God,—as though there had
been no wilderness, and no Red Sea, and no long wandering, and no daily severe
discipline. Let us be gentle with one another. We were in Egypt but yesterday, and
the enemy will not let us go easily. The devil does not say, "You are going, are you?
Yes; well, good-bye." o, no. Just as a man is going into heaven lie makes a dash at
the skirts of his garments; he fights battles in the chamber of death; he troubles the
last hours of the saint, and it is not until heaven"s door shuts upon the redeemed
man that the devil gives up the pursuit with a sob of disappointment, and falls back
to be the severer with those who are yet upon the earth!
There was an omnipotent and gracious Redeemer in the case of Israel; so there is in
the case of redeemed men. We are not saved by sheer power. Power in itself
considered is a terror; it is something very awful and unapproachable. But power in
the hands of mercy becomes redemption. The Redeemer of Israel was not only
powerful but gracious. The Israelites upon this occasion were sore afraid, they lifted
up their eyes and they cried unto the Lord. They were weak; they had no strength
left in them; and as for weapons of war, what had they? or if they had them, how
could they use them with any successful effect when they had been so long trampled
upon and unmanned and disquieted? There they were; and Egypt, mighty in her
pride and cruel in her wrath, was upon their track. Egypt never knew the mystery
of mercy. What was to be done then? The word reads so sweetly, the word is this:
"Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord." Precisely the gospel that was
adapted to their weak condition. If the command had been, "Rouse you; fight!" it
would have been like asking dead men to light those who were in the very bloom
and pride of their strength. But the command Isaiah , "Stand still." The adaptation
of God"s message to our condition is so perfect, so gracious, so sufficient. When we
are weak and cannot fight he says, "Stand still, and I will fight for you." When we
have our energies in all their completeness, he says, "Rise! fight!" He meets us
according to the condition that we are in. The Lord shall fight for you and ye shall
hold your peace.
The Egyptians were to be seen that day for the last time. "The Egyptians whom ye
have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever." How so? "Because the
Lord will fight for you." When God shuts his hand he crushes Egypt. There will be
no stir, or tumult, or great ado; the lifting up of his hand is destruction; the outlook
of his eye annihilation; the breath of his nostrils is a wind that carries with it
desolation and death, when he is so pleased. Here a little mistake was made by the
great leader of Israel. I am so thankful when men like Moses stumble, because their
stumbling gives inferior men hope and heart. Moses began to make it too much a
question of prayer; he began to talk to the Lord as if it were a great case of grief and
despondency, as if all difficulties had culminated in one terrific crisis. The Lord said
unto him, "Moses, do not pray at all." He told them to do just as they were doing
when they saw the Egyptians coming after them, namely, to go on.
Consider the circumstances. Israel was going on. Israel turned round and saw the
Egyptians; and Israel was full of weakness, and trembling, and despair; and Moses

55. spake unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Moses, "Go on as if this thing had not
happened; do not take it into your calculations at all; leave the Egyptians in my
hands; there is a time to pray, but not now; only lift up thy rod, and stretch thy
hand over the sea, and divide it, and behold I will get me honour upon Pharaoh and
upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen." "All!" with holy,
mighty scorn, he named them, and they seemed to perish whilst he enumerated
them! Mighty in their degree, but when compared with Jehovah but so many insects
fluttering in the air—a breath being able to destroy them.
Then occurred this beautiful incident. The angel of the Lord, which went before the
camp of Israel all the journey long up to this hour, removed and went behind them.
The angel of the Lord could do as he pleased. God is not the victim of law. God is
the Lawgiver. Life is above law. For ages he has been yonder, in the front; when it
pleaseth him he can turn round and be at the rear of things. He has a right to every
chamber in his own house; he built it; he has the key of every room, he can enter
when he pleases. On this occasion it pleased him to reverse the order of things, and
from the van he came to the rear. So beautiful are his adaptations! He said to Israel,
in effect and substance, "Are the Egyptians behind thee, O Israel? Then I will come
behind thee." "But the Egyptians are so very near to us, Lord!" "I can come
between you and them, how near soever they be; I made all spaces, and have them
all under my control, and though the Egyptians were just upon thy neck I could
come in between you,—I will go behind." And Israel sang a song unto the Lord:
"Thou hast beset us behind and before, and laid thine hand upon us." There are
men who tell us that God must move in this direction and must move in that; they
have been looking into affairs, they have been adding things up, and they have been
drawing their conclusions, and the conclusion of the thing is this—that we are
prisoners in the great jail of law. I am not. I am a prisoner of God"s love; I am shut
up in the great sanctuary of his heart. I believe he is greater than aught he has
made; that the Lawgiver is greater than the law, and that he who established the
universe has the key of its secret in his own heart. I teach this gracious truth because
I have lived it; I have known its completeness, its excellence, and its redeeming
power. God can be at one point to-day and at another tomorrow. He can be before
them in this case, behind them in that; he determines all things by a sovereignty we
cannot control. His sovereignty is his grace, at its highest point. The supremacy of
love is the sovereignty of God. I will trust myself with the Most High, I will cast
myself solely upon him, I will call him my Father and my King!
We are, then, in the wilderness; we have had long and bitter experience of sin, and
that experience has made us very weak, we have been under a most powerful and
oppressive enemy; he has never spared us, he has been severe with us; he has taken
away from us all that made life strong and desirable and useful, and we have been
redeemed by a gracious and omnipotent Redeemer; and still the great enemy has
pursued us, as though he never, never would give us up whilst there seemed, even to
himself, to his infernal hope, the slightest possible chance of recapturing us, and
locking us up in his great prison-house. This is our condition; we are still in the
wilderness; old associations still remind us of their existence, evil memories still
trouble our recollection, ghosts and spectres of the past come to terrify us, even

56. when we sit down at the board of Sacrament, and when we repeat the oath of
Christian love at the Cross. But our Redeemer is sufficient; he says to us in the time
of despair, "I will come behind thee." When we are just giving up, and asking,
"Who is sufficient for these things?" he says to us, in his own sweet voice, "My
grace is sufficient for thee; thy shoes shall be iron and brass, and as thy days so shall
thy strength be; no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. Hast thou not
known, hast thou not heard, hath it not been told thee from the beginning, that the
Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?" "He
giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but
they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with
wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint"
They shall be troubled on every side, but not distressed; cast down, but not
destroyed; persecuted, but still there shall be room enough left for the triumphing of
the grace of God. Sirs, your redemption is not of your own skill, energy, or wit. "O
Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help." When there was no eye
to pity and no arm to save, his own eye pitied, and his own arm brought salvation.
And I am persuaded that he who hath begun this good work will continue it even
unto the end.
Let us hope in this. Are you persecuting anybody? Are you pursuing any one who
has escaped the clutches of your evil influence? Know this, that if their hearts be set
on God, you cannot get at them. "Cannot get at them?" o. "But they are now
within sight." But God could blind you, if you were within an inch of them. " ot get
at them? Why, I can almost touch them now." Yes, you can almost do it, but your
"almost" is to God as wide as infinitude. Are you pursued? Do you say you cannot
get away from old influences, companions, associations, and conditions? ot all at
once, but little by little. If you be in God and love his truth, the pursuit of the enemy
will bring salvation nearer to you; if you cast your heart"s poor weakness and
distrust entirely upon his keeping,—then, nor mountain nor sea shall keep the
pilgrim back from the Canaan of God!
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?

57. BAR ES, "No graves in Egypt - This bitter taunt was probably suggested by the
vast extent of cemeteries in Egypt, which might not improperly be called the land of
tombs.
GILL, "And they said unto Moses,.... The Targum of Jonathan is,"the ungodly of
that generation said unto Moses;''but it seems rather to be understood of the body of the
people in general, and is not to be limited to some particular persons of the worse
characters among them:
because there were no graves in Egypt; as if there had been none, when there were
so many; the Egyptians being more solicitous about their graves than their houses, as
Diodorus Siculus reports (u); thus upbraiding Moses in a sarcastic way for what he had
done:
hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? that so there might be room
and graves enough to bury them in, for nothing but death was before their eyes:
wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? which
was very ungrateful and disingenuous.
CALVI , "11.Because there were no graves. This (155) is the more proper sense;
for the double negative is put for a single one. It is a bitter and biting taunt; for, not
contented with preferring the graves of Egypt to the death which they feared, they
scoffingly inquire how he could have thought of bringing them into the wilderness,
as if the land of Egypt was not large enough to bury them in. But God had openly
and clearly proved Himself to be the leader of their departing; and, again, it was
basely insensible of them to forget that they were not long since like dead men, and
had been miraculously brought out of the grave. Their madness is wilder still, when
they daringly call to remembrance the impious blasphemies which should have been
a matter of shame and detestation to themselves. For how sad was their ingratitude
in rejecting the proffered favor of deliverance, and in shutting the door against the
advances of God, in order that they might rot in their misery! True, that God had
pardoned this great depravity; but it was their part unceasingly to mourn, and to be
as it were overwhelmed with shame, that their crime might be blotted out before
God’s judgment-seat. But now, as if God and Moses were accountable to them, they
boastfully and petulantly reproach them for not believing them, when they would
have prudently prevented the evil. Hence are we taught how far men’s passions will
carry them, when fear has extinguished their hopes, and they wait not patiently for
God’s aid.

58. 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!”
BAR ES, "Let us alone - This is a gross exaggeration, yet not without a semblance
of truth: for although the Israelites welcomed the message of Moses at first, they gave
way completely at the first serious trial. See the reference in the margin. The whole
passage foreshadows the conduct of the people in the wilderness.
GILL, "Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt,.... The thing they
suggested to him, and talked with him about while they were in the land of Egypt, before
they came out of it, particularly after their service and bondage were made more severe
and cruel upon Moses and Aaron's demanding their dismission, see Exo_5:21,
saying, let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? peaceably and quietly, as
we have been used to do, since there is no likelihood of being freed, and since we are
more evilly treated than before:
for it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die
in the wilderness: of such mean spirits were they, and had so poor a notion of, and
taste for liberty, and so ungrateful were they to their deliverer.
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.

59. BAR ES, "For the Egyptians whom ... - The true sense is, ye shall never see the
Egyptians in the same way, under the same circumstances.
CLARKE, "Moses said - Fear ye not - This exhortation was not given to excite
them to resist, for of that there was no hope; they were unarmed, they had no courage,
and their minds were deplorably degraded.
Stand still - Ye shall not be even workers together with God; only be quiet, and do
not render yourselves wretched by your fears and your confusion.
See the salvation of the Lord - Behold the deliverance which God will work,
independently of all human help and means.
Ye shall see them again no more - Here was strong faith, but this was
accompanied by the spirit of prophecy. God showed Moses what he would do, he
believed, and therefore he spoke in the encouraging manner related above.
GILL, "And Moses said unto the people,.... Not in wrath and anger, but very coolly
and sedately, agreeably to his character of the meekest man on earth; though what they
had said to him was very insulting and provoking:
fear ye not; Pharaoh and his numerous host, do not be dismayed at them or possess
yourselves with a dread of them, and of destruction by them:
stand still; do not stir from the place where you are, do not offer to run away, or to
make your escape by flight (and which indeed seemed impossible), keep your place and
station, and put yourselves in such a situation as to wait and observe the issue of things:
and see the salvation of the Lord which he will shew to you today; which is
expressive of great faith in Moses in the midst of this extremity, who firmly believed that
God would save them from this numerous and enraged army, and that very quickly, even
that day; at least within twenty four hours, within the compass of a day; for it was the
night following that salvation was wrought for them, and their eyes beheld it: and it may
be called the salvation of the Lord, for it was his own hand that only effected it, the
Israelites not contributing anything in the least unto it, and was typical of the great
salvation which Christ with his own arm, and without the help of his people, has
wrought out for them:
for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more
for ever; that is, in such a posture or manner, no more armed, nor alive, and the objects
of their fear and dread; for otherwise they did see them again, but then they were on the
sea shore dead; for it should be rendered, not "whom", but "how", or "in what manner"
(w).
HE RY 13-14, "The seasonable encouragement that Moses gave them in this
distress, Exo_14:13, Exo_14:14. He answered not these fools according to their folly.
God bore with the provocation they gave to him, and did not (as he might justly have
done) chose their delusions, and bring their fears upon them; and therefore Moses might
well afford to pass by the affront they put upon him. Instead of chiding them, he

60. comforts them, and with an admirable presence and composure of mind, not
disheartened either by the threatenings of Egypt or the tremblings of Israel, stills their
murmuring, with the assurance of a speedy and complete deliverance: Fear you not.
Note, It is our duty and interest, when we cannot get out of our troubles, yet to get above
our fears, so that they may only serve to quicken our prayers and endeavours, but may
not prevail to silence our faith and hope. 1. He assures them that God would deliver
them, that he would undertake their deliverance, and that he would effect it in the utter
ruin of their pursuers: The Lord shall fight for you. This Moses was confident of himself,
and would have them to be so, though as yet he knew not how or which way it would be
brought to pass. God had assured him that Pharaoh and his host should be ruined, and
he comforts them with the same comforts wherewith he had been comforted. 2. He
directs them to leave it to God, in a silent expectation of the event: “Stand still, and think
not to save yourselves either by fighting or flying; wait God's orders, and observe them;
be not contriving what course to take, but follow your leader; wait God's appearances,
and take notice of them, that you may see how foolish you are to distrust them. Compose
yourselves, by an entire confidence in God, into a peaceful prospect of the great salvation
God is now about to work for you. Hold your peace; you need not so much as give a
shout against the enemy, as Jos_6:16. The work shall be done without any concurrence
of yours.” Note, (1.) If God himself bring his people into straits, he will himself discover
a way to bring them out again. (2.) In times of great difficulty and great expectation, it is
our wisdom to keep our spirits calm, quiet, and sedate; for then we are in the best frame
both to do our own work and to consider the work of God. Your strength is to sit still
(Isa_30:7), for the Egyptians shall help in vain, and threaten to hurt in vain.
JAMISO 13-14, "Moses said, ... Fear ye not, stand still, and see the
salvation of the Lord — Never, perhaps, was the fortitude of a man so severely tried
as that of the Hebrew leader in this crisis, exposed as he was to various and inevitable
dangers, the most formidable of which was the vengeance of a seditious and desperate
multitude; but his meek, unruffled, magnanimous composure presents one of the
sublimest examples of moral courage to be found in history. And whence did his courage
arise? He saw the miraculous cloud still accompanying them, and his confidence arose
solely from the hope of a divine interposition, although, perhaps, he might have looked
for the expected deliverance in every quarter, rather than in the direction of the sea.
K&D, "Moses met their unbelief and fear with the energy of strong faith, and
promised them such help from the Lord, that they would never see again the Egyptians,
whom they had seen that day. ‫ם‬ ֶ‫אית‬ ְ‫ר‬ ‫ר‬ ֶ‫שׁ‬ ֲ‫א‬ does not mean ᆋν τρόπον ᅛωράκατε (lxx),
quemadmodum vidistis (Ros., Kn.); but the sentence is inverted: “The Egyptians, whom
ye have seen to-day, ye will never see again.”
CALVI , "13.And Moses said unto the people. Although with his characteristic
kindness Moses courteously exhorts them to be of good hope, yet it is not probable
that he passed over in silence those wicked cries with which he saw that God was
atrociously assailed. I conceive, then, that he discharged the duty of a faithful
teacher by freely chastising their insolence, which was intolerable; and since he
spoke under the inspiration of the preventing Spirit of God, there is no doubt but

61. that God himself severely reproved their blasphemies, lest, by indulgence, they
should grow worse. But Moses omits the reproof, and only shows that God’s loving-
kindness went beyond the execrable impiety of the people, giving them consolation
to assuage their grief and to calm their troubled hearts. Moreover, by bidding them
not to fear, and “to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord,” he implies that, as
long as fear has possession of our minds, they are blinded, and confounded in their
stupidity so as not to receive the help of God. By the expression, “stand still,” he
means “keep quiet;” as much as to say, that there was no occasion for any one to
move a finger, because God alone would preserve them, though they were quiet and
unmoved; and this he confirms in the next verse, where God promises to conquer
for them whilst they hold their peace. But, in my opinion, it is not that he exhorts
them to be quiet; but intimates that in God alone there would be strength enough to
prevail, although they might be torpid like men entranced.: ow the Israelites,
when, though preserved by God’s hand, they reject as much as possible His
proffered grace, are an example to us how many repeated salvations are necessary
for us, in order that God may bring us to perfect salvation; because, by our
ingratitude, we nullify whatever He has given us, and thus should willfully perish, if
God did not correct our apathy by the power of His Spirit.
BE SO , "Verse 13-14
Exodus 14:13-14. Moses said, Fear ye not, stand still — Hebrew, make yourselves to
stand. Let not your hearts fail, or sink, or stagger, through unbelief: but with quiet
minds look up to God. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace —
Ye shall contribute nothing to the victory, neither by your words nor by your deeds.
A remarkable instance this of the composure of Moses’s mind, and the sedateness of
his temper, and how well he deserved the character given him umbers 12:3, of
being one of the meekest of men. He did not answer these fools according to their
folly: he does not chide, but comforts them; and with an admirable presence of
mind, not in the least disconcerted or disheartened, either by the approach of
Pharaoh, or the tremblings of Israel, he stills their murmurings, calmly exhorting
them to take heart and trust in God. It is our duty when we cannot get out of our
troubles, yet to get above our fears, so that they may only serve to quicken our
prayers and endeavours, but may not prevail to silence our faith and hope.
COKE, "Exodus 14:13. Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not— The sublimity
and grandeur of this reply of Moses can be equalled by nothing but the calmness
and moderation of mind wherewith he addresses these servile and desponding
Israelites. See umbers 12:3. The phrase, in the 14th verse, and ye shall hold your
peace, expresses, that they, in the deepest silence and attention, shall contemplate
the great work which Jehovah will perform. This is the exact meaning of the
Hebrew verb ‫חרשׁ‬ choresh.
REFLECTIO S.—How soon are the songs of liberty turned into the sorrows of
death. Observe,
1. The terrible dismay which seizes the Israelites: surrounded with insurmountable

62. obstacles, and no door open for escape, except the Lord interpose. Blessed be God,
though troubled on every side, we can still say, Sursum corda, Look up and hope.
Could not he, who had done wonders in Egypt, do as great in the wilderness? and
had he shewn them so much grace, to forsake them now? But they are as
desponding of God, as ungrateful to Moses; and by their murmuring provoke the
judgment they otherwise need not fear. They were now delivered; but their
continued perverseness brought on them at last, as on the Egyptians, after ten
plagues, the same destruction. Unbelief, if uncured, must be fatal at last.
2. Moses encourages them against their fears: he does not reproach their cowardice,
but pities their weakness. Sharp rebukes will not suit all sins; we must direct our
advice to the circumstances of the patient. They have but one business: to rest upon
God: he who has brought them into danger, will bring them out of it. ote; (1.)
Sedateness in danger, is the most likely means to extricate ourselves from it. (2.) To
encourage our heart in God, is the way, not only to remove our fears, but to
surmount our difficulties.
EXPOSITOR'S DICTIO ARY, "Exodus 14:13
In explaining (Apologia, pp262 f.) why he had not come forward in defence of
Catholic truth against the scientific heresies of the age, ewman writes: "It seemed
to be specially a time in which Christians had a call to be patient, in which they had
no other way of helping those who were alarmed than that of exhorting them to
have a little faith and fortitude and to "beware," as the poet says, "of dangerous
steps."" In this policy he also felt the Papal authorities would support him. "And I
interpret recent acts of that authority as fulfilling my expectation; I interpret them
as tying the hands of a controversialist, such as I should be, and teaching us that
true wisdom which Moses inculcated on his people, when the Egyptians were
pursuing them, "fear ye not, stand still; the Lord shall fight for you, ye shall hold
your peace"."
Faith, whether we receive it in the sense of adherence to resolution, obedience to
law, regardfulness of promise, in which from all time it has been the test, as the
shield, of the true being and life of man; or in the still higher sense of trustfulness in
the presence, kindness, and word of God, in which form it has been exhibited under
the Christian dispensation. For, whether in one or other form—whether the
faithfulness of men whose path is chosen and portion fixed, in the following and
receiving of that portion, as in the Thermopylæ camp; or the happier faithfulness of
children in the good giving of their Father, and of subjects in the conduct of their
king, as in the "Stand still and see the salvation of God" of the Red Sea shore, there
is rest and peacefulness, the "standing still" in both, the quietness of action
determined, of spirit unalarmed, of expectation unimpatient.
—Ruskin, Modern Painters (vol11.).
ELLICOTT, "Verse 13-14
(13, 14) Fear ye not, stand still.—There are times when all our strength must be “in

63. quietness and confidence” (Isaiah 30:15). So long as we have means of resistance put
in our power, with a reasonable prospect of success, it is our duty to use them—to
exert ourselves to the uttermost, to make all possible efforts. God, for the most part,
“helps those who help themselves.” But there are occasions when we can do
nothing—when all must be left to Him. (Comp. 2 Chronicles 20:17.) Under these
circumstances, our duty and our true wisdom is to wait patiently, quietly,
courageously. Moses, probably, did not yet know how God would effect Israel’s
deliverance, but he was confident that, in one way or another, it would be effected.
The Egyptians whom ye have seen . . . —Heb., As ye have seen the Egyptians to-day,
ye shall see them no more for ever: i.e., never again shall ye see them in the pride of
power, haughty, menacing, terrible. When next you behold them they will be stiff
and lifeless—pale corpses strewing the Red Sea shore (see Exodus 14:30). The
reference is to the present time only, not to the future relations of the two peoples.
ISBET, "THE LORD’S SALVATIO
‘Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.’
Exodus 14:13
I. These words, which to fleshly Israel must have seemed so strange, and which to
weak faith echo so strangely still, contain two parts, a duty and a blessing.—They
were to ‘stand still,’ and so should they see the salvation of God. And this condition
of blessing runs continually through the whole history of the Jewish and Christian
Church. When God has tried His chosen servants or His chosen people, the most
frequent trial perhaps has been this, whether they would tarry the Lord’s leisure, be
content to receive God’s gift in God’s way, hasten not, turn not to the right hand or
the left, but ‘stand still’ and see the salvation of God. By patient (the word implies
suffering) waiting for God, an unresisting resistance unto blood, did the Church
take root in the whole world.
II. It is for instruction only that we may ask why God should so have annexed the
blessing of conquest to enduring suffering, and made patience mightier than what
men call active virtues. (1) It may be that it has some mysterious connection with the
sufferings of Christ. Vicarious suffering may be so far well-pleasing to God as
having a communion with the sufferings of His beloved Son, and doubtless it may
make those who are partakers of it more capable of the communication of the merits
and influence of His passion. (2) Then, also, it may be needful, in the wisdom of
God, for the perfecting of His saints. As all trial implies pain, so the trial of the most
precious vessels, it may be, is to be accompanied by pains proportionate. (3) It is
evident, that so God’s power and glory are most shown in averting suffering, or in
crowning the enduring faith by His blessing. (4) Since man’s self-will was the cause
of his fall, God would thus teach him to renounce dependence upon himself, to quit
his own wisdom and his own schemes, and do God’s will.
Dr. Pusey.
Illustration
(1) ‘With the deliverance of that day, the independent life of the nation was to

64. commence, and it was to be a Divine deliverance, kept ever in mind by a religious
ceremony. The civil year began with the first new moon in October, the sacred with
the first new moon in April. In Egypt the fixed year began in June, at the rise of the
ile. The Babylonians began the year at the vernal equinox. The Hebrew names are
Tisri, at the autumnal equinox, and Abib, or isam, at the vernal equinox. Spring is
the true beginning of the year; everything then begins to live again. Fitting type of
the beginning of a nation’s life.’
(2) ‘There are two commands which come to us when we are in perplexity. The first
is to stand still and see God’s salvation. If you do not know what to do, wait to see
what God is about to do. Only be still, cool, calm, collected. Look not around at the
imminent danger, but up to his very present help. And when He says, “Go
forward,” do not hesitate for a moment to advance. For as your feet touch the fringe
of the brine, a way will cleave down into the heart of the sea, and through the
depths.’
PETT, "Exodus 14:13-14
‘And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still and watch God’s
deliverance, which he will accomplish for you today. For you will never ever see
again the Egyptians whom you have seen this day. Yahweh will fight for you and
you will hold your peace” ’
The contrast between the cringing people and the confident Moses is outstanding.
He recognises their dilemma but He has no doubts that Yahweh will act and tells
them that they will not need to fight. They have only to stand and watch, for
Yahweh will fight for them. He is certain that the Egyptians will be dealt with in
such a way that they will never again try to interfere with the journeying children of
Israel. But he does not think of trying to cross the water for, while some might
manage to get through, the majority will be stranded with their cattle and flocks
and possessions.
Then having expressed his confidence he comes to Yahweh to ask Him to act on
their behalf. He ‘cries to Yahweh’ as Exodus 14:15 indicates.
BI 13, "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.
The temper for the crises of life
I. The question was once asked by an eminent thinker, whether nations, like individuals,
could go mad. There certainly have been movements, like the Reformation or the French
Revolution, of which no one could foretell the existence or power. But such movements,
like the cataclysms of geology, have been rare, and they seem likely to be rarer as the
world goes on. Yet this is not the aspect of the world which our imagination presents to
us. There are the two opposite poles of feeling, the one exaggerating, the other
minimizing, actions and events; the one all enthusiasm and alarm, the other cynical and
hopeless. The true temper in politics is the temper of confidence and hope. “Stand still,
and see the salvation of the Lord.” Be patient, and instead of changing every day with the
gusts of public opinion, observe how curiously, not without a Divine providence, many
things work themselves out into results which we never foresaw.

65. II. A temper of confidence and repose is needed in matters of religion. The great changes
in religious opinion during the last forty years have taken two directions—Rome and
Germany. These changes are far from unimportant, but the temper of alarm and
exaggeration is not the right way of dealing with them. Amid the charges of religious
opinions and the theological discord which distracts the world, we may possess our souls
in peace. If sometimes our ears are thrilled and our minds confused by the Babel of
voices which dins around us, we may turn from without, and listen calmly to that voice
which speaks to us from within, of love, and righteousness, and peace.
III. Let us apply the same principle to our own lives. We need to see ourselves as we
truly are, in all our relations to God and to our fellow-men. We need to carry into the
whole of life that presence of mind which is required of the warrior who in the hour of
conflict is calm, and sees what he foresaw. (B. Jowett, M. A.)
A duty and a blessing
I. These words which to fleshly Israel must have seemed so strange, and which to weak
faith echo so strangely still, contain two parts, a duty and a blessing. They were to “stand
still,” and so should they see the salvation of God. And this condition of blessing runs
continually through the whole history of the Jewish and Christian Church. When God
has tried His chosen servants or His chosen people, the most frequent trial perhaps has
been this, whether they would tarry the Lord’s leisure, be content to receive God’s gift in
God’s way, hasten not, turn not to the right hand or the left, but “stand still” and see the
salvation of God. By patient (the word implies suffering) waiting for God, an unresisting
resistance unto blood, did the Church take root in the whole world.
II. It is for instruction only that we may ask why God should so have annexed the
blessing of conquest to enduring suffering, and made patience mightier than what men
call active virtues.
1. It may be that it has some mysterious connection with the sufferings of Christ.
Vicarious suffering may be so far well-pleasing to God as having a communion with
the sufferings of His beloved Son, and doubtless it may make those who are
partakers of it more capable of the communication of the merits and influence of His
passion.
2. Then, also, it may be needful, in the wisdom of God, for the perfecting of His
saints. As all trial implies pain, so the trial of the most precious vessels, it may be, is
to be accompanied by pains proportionate.
3. It is evident, that so God’s power and glory are most shown in averting suffering,
or in crowning the enduring faith by His blessing.
4. Since man’s self-will was the cause of his fall, God would thus teach him to
renounce dependence upon himself, to quit his own wisdom and his own schemes,
and do God’s will. (E. B. Pusey, D. D.)
Lessons
1. It concerns God’s instruments of salvation to reason quietly with a froward people
who despise it.
2. God much contends by His ministers to remove the unbelieving fears of His

66. people.
3. Stability in faith is God’s command to cure fears in unbelief.
4. Jehovah’s salvation is worth the looking unto by His poor creatures in faith.
5. Present salvation God can and will give to His people to quiet them in believing.
6. God’s command for faith carries proportionable reason for it in all cases.
7. Causes of fear which hinder faith God removeth at His pleasure.
8. In God’s great redemption, typical and real, the Church is passive, not a word to
it.
9. In such appearances of God it is but just with men to be silent from murmuring
(Exo_14:14). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Faith and fear
As man is capable of different forms of actions, so is he susceptible of various kinds of
emotions. There are two kinds of emotions which govern mankind more than any
others—faith and fear. These comprehend almost all the interests, and sway almost all
the actions of life. They are often opposed to each other, and frequently fear conquers
faith. Fear is a power governed more by sense than faith; it is more selfish and timid
than it. Faith is a more spiritual and religious power than fear, and must conquer all fear
and all opposing powers before men can be powerful and triumphant.
I. Let us observe, first, the triumph of fear or feeling over faith.
1. Faith is often opposed and conquered when immediate danger appears, and when
it cannot point to immediate deliverance.
2. When the superficial inclination of man is opposed and self-denial demanded,
faith often is vanquished, and feeling triumphs.
3. Faith is often conquered by sense or feeling when reason cannot comprehend and
explain things in God’s dealings towards His creatures.
4. Feeling often overcomes faith when religion appears to militate against what men
consider their present interest.
5. Feeling sometimes gets the advantage over faith on the ground of ease and
indulgence.
6. Faith also is often conquered for want of free and open heart and mind to receive
truth and conviction. Prejudice and narrowness of mind are deadly enemies to faith,
as they are to the advancement of truth and right life everywhere.
7. I mention another ground on which faith is too often conquered by feeling—
namely, because it looks to the future for its full reward. Feeling has no patience to
wait; it must be satisfied with its objects now; whilst faith rises above the visible and
the present to the unseen and the future.
II. We shall now notice the triumph of faith over sense and feeling. Though faith is
above feeling, it is not necessarily opposed to it; it works through it, and makes it
subordinate to its influence and end. The unity of the two is essential to make men
strong and happy; when they are divided the happiness of men is marred, and their

67. strength of heart and character is shorn.
1. When the mind is profoundly convinced of truth it conquers. In the degree the
mind is capable of deep conviction, it is strong, and this also is one of the
strongholds of faith. When the mind becomes thoroughly imbued with the
importance and truth of anything, it possesses the first qualification of conquest over
all opposition and difficulty; and never till then can great things be accomplished.
2. Another condition under which faith proves itself triumphant is a deep conviction
of need. Conviction of need, either personally or relatively, is both the reason and
power of any and every effort, and no great sacrifice and conquest will be
accomplished without.
3. For the development and triumph of faith, it is requisite as a condition that the
soul should be convinced of the failure and insufficiency of all sensuous and finite
things to satisfy its requirements.
4. It is requisite that the moral perception and feeling of the soul should be opened
and awakened to see and feel things as they are before faith can conquer. Though
faith is a power of confidence in the dark, it is nevertheless a power that thrives in
light, and demands all the evidence the case in hand permits.
5. Faith conquers whilst the soul lives in close union with God, and carries with it a
consciousness of His presence; for conscious communion with God is the power as
well as the life of the soul, and so long as this is enjoyed faith is triumphant.
III. We come now to the triumph of God over nature—“See the salvation of the Lord,
which He will show to you to-day.” Such a salvation was not wrought in the ordinary
course of nature. Apparently the forces and laws of nature were against the possibility of
it; it was a Divine display of Divine triumph of God over nature.
1. The event is represented as authentic and real. It is not an allegory, or any ideal
manifestation representing a potential possibility, or a thing to excite human fancy.
2. The event was a manifestation, and produced in subordination to the purpose of
mercy.
3. The event was produced for a moral and religious end. God had repeatedly
promised to deliver them, and the act was a fulfilment of an old and repeated
engagement. The promise was made and performed on the ground of religion.
4. The event is in harmony with its conditions. The event is not professed to be the
production of ordinary power, which would be inconsistent; for it is an extraordinary
one, and there must be some equality between the power of production and the
production itself. The event is professed to be an extraordinary manifestation of an
infinite power; and unless this power itself is denied in the fact of its existence, it is
hard to guess how the event can be considered impossible. The event is professed to
have been produced for a wise and sufficient reason.
Lessons:
1. The dealings of God are suitable always to the occasion. He works in the right time
and place, when and where the thing is needed.
2. It is possible to be in a condition which is beyond all human and natural
deliverance.
3. God sometimes delays His deliverance to an extreme hour.

68. 4. Where duty is clear, difficulties should not prevent an effort to perform it.
5. The difference between the real and the unreal is seen most clearly in extreme
conditions.
6. There are things in life which we meet once, and we pass on and never meet again.
7. Genuine and deep-rooted faith shows its superiority in circumstances that baffle
sensuous reasoning. (T. Hughes.)
Direction in dilemma
Our text exhibits the posture in which a man should be found while exercised with trial.
Methinks, also, it shows the position in which a sinner should be found when he is under
trouble on account of sin. We will employ it in both ways.
I. Take our text first as A picture of the believer when he is reduced to great straits. Then
God’s command to him is, “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.” In this brief
sentence there are two things very conspicuous: first, what is to be done, “Stand still”;
and secondly, what is to be seen, “See the salvation of the Lord.”
1. What is to be done? Faith hears the bidding of her faithful God, and is not willing
to be shut up in the iron cage of despair; nay, she defies the old giant to put so much
as a finger upon her. Lie down and die? that she never will while her God bids her
stand. See the word “stand.” What does it mean? Keep the posture of an upright
man, ready for action, expecting further orders, cheerfully and patiently awaiting the
directing voice. But in what way are we to “stand still”? Surely it means, among other
things, that we are to wait awhile. Time is precious, but there are occasions when the
best use we can make of it is to let it run on. A man who would ride post.haste had
better wait till he is perfectly mounted, or he may slip from the saddle. He who
glorifies God by standing still is better employed than he who diligently serves his
own self-will.
(1) Wait in prayer, however. Call upon God and spread the case before Him; tell
Him your difficulty, and plead His promise of aid.
(2) Wait in faith, for unfaithful, untrusting waiting is but an insult to the Lord.
Believe that if He shall keep you tarrying even till midnight, yet He will come at
the right time; the vision shall come and shall not tarry.
(3) Wait in quiet patience, not murmuring because you are under the affliction,
but blessing God for it.
2. But now, secondly, what is to be seen? You are to see the salvation of God. In your
present temporal trials you are to see God’s power and love manifested. Now, I think
I hear you say, “Well, one thing I know, I cannot deliver myself out of the dilemma in
which I am now placed. I had some dependence once upon my own judgment and
upon my own ability, but that dependence is entirely gone.” It is a good thing for you
sometimes, Christian, to be wholly weaned from yourself. But you are saying, “What
shall I see?” Well, I know not precisely what you shall see, except I am sure of this,
you shall see the salvation of God, and in that salvation you shall see two or three
things, just as the children of Israel saw them.
(1) You shall see, if needs be, all nature and all providence subservient to God’s
love.

69. (2) You will see again, if you will but stand still and see it, that the Lord reigneth.
You shall have such a picture of Jehovah sitting upon His throne, controlling and
overruling all things, that you shall extol Him with your whole heart as your God
and King for ever. You shall see most distinctly, if you will but wait and look for
it, how He can make you a wonder.
(3) You shall be a wonder to yourself, and marvel how it is that God supports
you. You shall be a wonder to your enemies. You shall do what they cannot do;
you shall walk through the depths of the sea, which the Egyptians, assaying to do,
were drowned.
(4) You shall see your enemies utterly destroyed, if you will but wait.
II. I intend to take the text in reference to the sinner brought into the sake condition in a
moral sense.
1. “Stand still” in the renunciation of all thine own righteousness, and of all attempts
to seek a righteousness by thine own doings.
2. But now the sinner says, “Suppose, then, I give up all hope, and do no more by
way of trusting to myself, what shall I see?” Do remark that all the sinner can do, is
to see the salvation. He is not to work it out, he is not to help it on, but he is to see it;
yet, mark you, that sinner cannot even find out that salvation of itself, for if you
notice, the next sentence to our text is, “which He will show you to-day.” God must
show it to us, or else we cannot see it. I will tell thee of it.
(1) First, it was ordained of old, like the deliverance of the Red Sea. If God’s
election comes to those who are without merit, without hope, without strength,
here is hope for thee.
(2) In the next place, the salvation which God shows is one wrought by a
mediator. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Salvation of the Lord
John Lyons, a well-known citizen in Arizona, while at work in the shaft of his mine near
Tres Alamos, had just put in a blast and lighted the fuse, when, on reaching the top of
the shaft, he beheld four mounted Apaches rapidly approaching. Their horrible yells and
hostile gestures revealed their murderous intent, and Mr. Lyons was for an instant
paralyzed with terror. His first impulse was to hurl himself into the shaft and be blown
to atoms by the explosion of the blast rather than perish miserably at the hands of the
remorseless foe. Suddenly the blast at the bottom of the shaft exploded with terrific
effect, throwing a shower of rock and debris high in the air, which was followed by a
dense volume of smoke rolling up from the shaft. The Indians checked their horses,
appalled by the unexpected and to them mysterious eruption, then, with a yell of terror,
wheeled round and galloped off in the direction whence they came. But for the
coincidence of the blast igniting at that particular moment, the man would, doubtless,
have been tortured to death in the true Apache style. In the Christian life there come
times when destruction seems inevitable, as it seemed to the miner, but those who trust
in God experience deliverance as unexpected as his.
Fitness before action
The first thing this proud and sinful soul of mine needs is to be emptied of self and
become like a little child. Action by and by. Work when you are ready and fit for work.

70. March when you have been told where to go, and can see your way—not before. First of
all, if we would do anything good or great we must get into a right attitude with God,
from whom all goodness and greatness come. First of all get you to the Fountain Head,
and see that the channels are open for real streams of light and life to flow down from
the unseen and supernatural Heart into your own. Make sure that there is a God, and
that He is your God; and that, being yours, His course is your course and His fight is
your fight. It is not the atheist that is told to go forward; for his very going will be godless
and he will blunder into Egypt again. The farther he goes the worse. It is not the
pantheist that is bidden to go forward; for no fatherly hand will lead him but a blind
force, the blind leading the blind. It is not the arrogant and unreligious moralist; for he
will have to build his system out of the same materials that have failed him so often, or
else trust the poor instinct which has already cast him helpless between the wilderness
and the sea. When Christ and the apostles were asked, “What shall I do to be a
Christian”? the answer was always in the same order—it was a pointing upward, first,
not forward: Believe; lay hold on Heaven; take the hand of Christ; see that spiritual
things are real; make your first act one of devotion; repent; be baptized; be confirmed;
pray. Fill your mind and will with power from on high. (Bp. F. D. Huntington.)
The Christian must both “stand still” and “go forward”
Twice the Divine voice speaks. It says, first, “Stand still.” Stand still, O impatient, eager,
unthinking, unbelieving men! Stand still, men of unregulated activity, of unconsecrated
knowledge, of swift and sweeping passion, of intemperate desire! Stand still, reckless
competitions, grasping enterprises, immoderate labours and furious amusements, of
these hurrying days and heated nights! Stand still, boundless ambition, over-wrought
and overconfident brain, from your wild chase for bubbles in the air! Stand still, selfish
traffic, corrupted legislation, Mammon and Passion and Vanity Fair, an unprincipled
press, a frivolous society, a worldly-minded and mercenary Church! Stand still and see
the salvation of God! Stand still, O lustful appetite and unfeeling avarice and cruel pride
and headstrong self-will in the unchildlike and unchristian heart! But go forward, men of
duty, men of honour, men of faith, men of God! Speak to the children of the Christian
Israel soberly; speak encouragingly to one another, you who have long borne a burden
that presses hard and borne it for your covenant’s and your sanctuary’s sake. “The Lord
shall fight for you.” Go forward, mercy and charity, works of faith and love, missions,
healings, sacrifices, praises, reconciliations—go forward, O kingdom, in every soul and
every land till they all are the kingdom of our God! (Bp. F. D. Huntington.)
Sit still and trust
One day when Stonewall Jackson, with his sister-in-law, was crossing the boiling
torrent, just below the American falls at Niagara, in a slight boat manned by two
oarsmen, the current so swirled the boat that the lady became terrified, believing they
were going to the bottom. Jackson seized her by the arms, and turned to one of the men
and said, “How often have you crossed here?” “I have been rowing people across, sir, for
twelve years.” “Did you ever meet with an accident?” “Never, sir.” “Never were capsized?
never lost a life?” “Nothing of the kind, sir!” Then turning, in a somewhat peremptory
tone, he said to the lady, “You hear what the boatman says, and unless you think you can
take the oars and row better than he does, sit still and trust him as I do.”

71. Stand still
These words contain God’s command to the believer when he is reduced to great straits
and brought into extraordinary difficulties. “Stand still.” Despair whispers, “Lie down
and die; give it all up.” But God would have us put on a cheerful courage, and even in our
worst times rejoice in His love and faithfulness. Cowardice says, “Retreat, go back to the
worldling’s way of action; you cannot play the Christian’s part, it is too difficult.
Relinquish your principles.” But, however much Satan may urge this course upon you,
you cannot follow it, if you are a child of God. The Divine fiat has bid thee go from
strength to strength, and so thou shalt; and neither death nor hell shall turn thee from
thy course. Precipitancy says, “Do something; stir yourself—to stand still and wait is
sheer idleness.” We must be doing something at once. Presumption boasts, “If the sea be
before you, march into it and expect a miracle.” But Faith listens neither to Presumption,
nor to Despair, nor to Cowardice, nor to Precipitancy, but it hears God say, “stand still,”
and immovable as a rock it stands. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Ye shall see them again no more for ever.—
Social separations
Although the Israelites beheld the next morning the Egyptian host dead upon the beach,
they saw them no more in their pomp and power, fierceness and anger; they saw them
no more in this world for ever. Let us look at the fact in three aspects.
I. As affording a glimpse of the moral government of God. A signal interposition
displaying justice towards the oppressor, and mercy towards the oppressed.
1. Moral government takes cognizance of man’s conduct.
2. Moral government righteously visits man’s conduct.
II. As illustrating separations that are going on between men every day.
1. Every day we see men that we shall see no more in this world for ever.
2. Every day we see men that we shall see no more in their present circumstances for
ever.
3. Every day we see men that we shall see no more in their present character for ever.
III. As foreshadowing that final separation which must take place between the wicked
and the righteous.
1. This takes place really at death. No more sensualists with their seductions,
sceptics with their insinuations, devil with his temptations.
2. This takes place publicly in the day of judgment. (Homilist.)
Lessons
I. Then wicked men shall perish in the very hour of their splendour and pride. Ii. Then
wicked men are often powerless to inflict the injury they desire upon the good. If we are
injured by these enemies of the soul, it is because of our unbelief.
III. Then the wicked and the good will be eternally separated in the life to come. (J. S.
Exell, M. A.)

72. Never again
I have seen one person at least, to-day, whom I have seen for the last time in this life. He
may live many days or many years—I may live many days or many years; but in a
crowded city like this it must needs be that there is one among that throng whom I have
passed whom I never again will see. He stands, therefore, as a messenger direct from me
to the judgment seat of God. Little did I think, when I spoke to him, with what a message
I was freighting him l It is the last look that strikes, the last touch that tells, and if it was
an unkind or a false word I then spoke, that unkind or false word has sunk like a die on
the molten memory of him from whom I have just parted, as well as of myself. What
testimony will he bear against me in the judgment of the future?
1. Perhaps it was one whom I was bound to love on whom my words fell. If it were,
may God forgive me! for if they burned and seared that heart, far more deeply will
they burn and sear mine, when I find that the ear that listened so eagerly for love,
and shrank so agonizingly from unkindness, is now closed in death.
2. Perhaps it was one whom I was bound to protect, and whom with words of
cunning I have overreached. If so, may God forgive me, for I have thus sent direct to
His throne of justice this accusation against myself! Never again! And yet again when
I go forth to-morrow there is at least one other whom I will meet whom I may meet
never again! Guard my tongue and my heart, O God, that my account as to him may
be just before Thee! (Episcopal Recorder.)
The resource of God against the enemies of the good
During the American Civil War an English ship was boarded by the crew of a confederate
cruiser. They drew their swords. But the gallant English Captain Williams marched
forward and said, “Gentlemen, I am a simple sailor, but do not forget that behind this
flag which I hold in my hand lies all the power of the army and navy of England. If you
strike me you strike the might of England.” So we may be simple men and women, but
when we are engaged in the Lord’s work we do not stand alone. (G. Howard James.)
14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to
be still.”

73. CLARKE, "The Lord shall fight for you - Ye shall have no part in the honor of
the day; God alone shall bring you off, and defeat your foes.
Ye shall hold your peace - Your unbelieving fears and clamours shall be
confounded, and ye shall see that by might none shall be able to prevail against the Lord,
and that the feeblest shall take the prey when the power of Jehovah is exerted.
GILL, "The Lord shall fight for you,.... By commanding the wind of the heavens,
and the waves of the sea, and employing them against their enemies, and on their behalf;
they being unarmed, and so not in a condition to fight for themselves, as well as they had
no heart or spirit for it:
and ye shall hold your peace; be still, and quiet, and easy in your minds, and forbear
saying or doing anything; "be silent"; and neither express the fear and distress of their
minds, by any mournful sounds, nor their joy of faith by shouts and huzzas; as they
could not draw a sword, they were not so much as to blow a trumpet, and break a
pitcher, and cry the sword of the Lord, and of Israel as they after did on another
occasion, at least their posterity.
K&D, "“Jehovah will fight for you (‫ם‬ ֶ‫כ‬ ָ‫,ל‬ dat comm.), but you will be silent,” i.e., keep
quiet, and not complain any more (cf. Gen_34:5).
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you
crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.
BAR ES, "Wherefore criest thou unto me? - Moses does not speak of his
intercession, and we only know of it from this answer to his prayer.
CLARKE, "Wherefore criest thou unto me? - We hear not one word of Moses’
praying, and yet here the Lord asks him why he cries unto him? From which we may
learn that the heart of Moses was deeply engaged with God, though it is probable he did
not articulate one word; but the language of sighs, tears, and desires is equally
intelligible to God with that of words. This consideration should be a strong
encouragement to every feeble, discouraged mind: Thou canst not pray, but thou canst
weep; if even tears are denied thee, (for there may be deep and genuine repentance,
where the distress is so great as to stop up those channels of relief), then thou canst sigh;
and God, whose Spirit has thus convinced thee of sin, righteousness, and judgment,
knows thy unutterable groanings, and reads the inexpressible wish of thy burdened soul,

74. a wish of which himself is the author, and which he has breathed into thy heart with the
purpose to satisfy it.
GILL, "And the Lord said unto Moses, wherefore criest thou unto me?.... The
Targum of Jonathan is,"why standest thou and prayest before me?''and no doubt this
crying is to be understood of prayer, of mental prayer, of secret ejaculations put up by
Moses to the Lord without a voice, for no mention is made of any: this shows, that
though Moses most firmly believed that God would work salvation for them, yet he did
not neglect the use of means, prayer to God for it; nor was the Lord displeased with him
on that account, only he had other work for him to do, and he had no need to pray any
longer, God had heard him, and would save him and his people:
speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward; a little further, as Aben
Ezra observes, until they were come to the sea shore, near to which they now were; and
thither they were to move in an orderly composed manner, as unconcerned and fearless
of their enemies.
HE RY, "We have here,
I. Direction given to Israel's leader.
1. What he must do himself. He must, for the present, leave off praying, and apply
himself to his business (Exo_14:15): Wherefore cryest thou unto me? Moses, though he
was assured of a good issue to the present distress, yet did not neglect prayer. We read
not of one word he said in prayer, but he lifted up to God his heart, the language of
which God well understood and took notice of. Moses's silent prayers of faith prevailed
more with God than Israel's loud outcries of fear, Exo_14:10. Note, (1.) Praying, if of the
right kind, is crying to God, which denotes it to be the language both of a natural and of
an importunate desire. (2.) To quicken his diligence. Moses had something else to do
besides praying; he was to command the hosts of Israel, and it was now requisite that he
should be at his post. Every thing is beautiful in its season.
2. What he must order Israel to do. Speak to them, that they go forward. Some think
that Moses had prayed, not so much for their deliverance (he was assured of that) as for
the pardon of heir murmurings, and that God's ordering them to go forward was an
intimation of the pardon. There is no going forward with any comfort but in the sense of
our reconciliation to God. Moses had bidden them stand still, and expect orders from
God; and now orders are given. They thought they must have been directed either to the
right hand or to the left. “No,” says God, “speak to them to go forward, directly to the
sea-side;” as if there had lain a fleet of transport-ships ready for them to embark in.
Note, When we are in the way of our duty, though we met with difficulties, we must go
forward, and not stand in mute astonishment; we must mind present work and then
leave the even to God, use means and trust him with the issue.
JAMISO , "the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me?
etc. — When in answer to his prayers, he received the divine command to go forward, he
no longer doubted by what kind of miracle the salvation of his mighty charge was to be
effected.
K&D 15-19- words of Jehovah to Moses, “What criest thou to Me?” imply that Moses

75. had appealed to God for help, or laid the complaints of the people before Him, and do
not convey any reproof, but merely an admonition to resolute action. The people were to
move forward, and Moses was to stretch out his hand with his staff over the sea and
divide it, so that the people might go through the midst on dry ground. Exo_14:17 and
Exo_14:18 repeat the promise in Exo_14:3, Exo_14:4. The command and promise were
followed by immediate help (Exo_14:19-29). Whilst Moses divided the water with his
staff, and thus prepared the way, the angel of God removed from before the Israelites,
and placed himself behind them as a defence against the Egyptians, who were following
them. “Upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen” (Exo_14:17), is in apposition to “all
his host;” as Pharaoh's army consisted entirely of chariots and horsemen (cf. Exo_
14:18).
CALVI , "15.And the Lord (156) said I have used the praeter-pluperfect tense for
the sake of avoiding ambiguity; for the reason is here given why Moses so
confidently reproved the hesitation of the people, and promised that they should be
safe under the present help of God; viz., because he had already been assured by
divine revelation that God was willing to aid His people, and had in readiness a new
means for their preservation. For he could not have been the proclaimer and witness
of their safety if he had not received the promise. Therefore he relieves his
confidence from the imputation of rashness, since he advanced nothing which he
had not already heard from the mouth of God himself. These words, “Wherefore
criest thou unto me?” some interpreters extend to the whole people, whose
representative Moses was; but this sense is too far-fetched, and I have recently
observed, that the prayers of the people were by no means directed to God. I doubt
not., therefore, that the holy man had prayed apart in the insurrection of the people.
or is this pious duty disapproved of in the passage; but rather shows that he had
not spent his labor in vain, nor poured forth his words into the air. The sense, then,
is, “Weary not yourself by crying any more; the event will prove that you are heard.
Lift up your rod, then, whereby you may divide the sea, so that the children of Israel
may go dry shod through the midst of it.” This passage shows that they are guilty of
rashness who promise anything either to themselves or others, as to particular
blessings, without the special testimony of God.
BE SO , "Exodus 14:15. Wherefore criest thou to me? — Moses, though he was
assured of a good issue, yet did not neglect prayer. We read not of one word he said
in prayer, but he lifted up his heart to God, and God well understood, and took
notice of it. Moses’s silent prayer prevailed more with God than Israel’s loud
outcries. But is God displeased with Moses for praying? o; he asks this question,
Wherefore criest thou unto me? Wherefore shouldest thou press thy petition any
further, when it is already granted? Moses has something else to do besides praying;
he is to command the hosts of Israel. Speak to them that they go forward — Some
think Moses had prayed not so much for their deliverance, he was assured of that,
as for the pardon of their murmurings: and God’s ordering them to go forward was
an intimation of the pardon. Moses bid them stand still and expect orders from
God: and now orders are given. They thought they must have been directed either to
the right hand or to the left; no, saith God, speak to them to go forward directly to

76. the sea-side; as if there had lain a fleet of transport ships ready for them to embark
in. Let the children of Israel go as far as they can upon dry ground, and then God
will divide the sea. The same power could have congealed the waters for them to
pass over, but infinite Wisdom chose rather to divide the waters for them to pass
through, for that way of salvation is always pitched upon which is most humbling.
EXPOSITOR'S DICTIO ARY, "Exodus 14:15
The Elizabethan seamen, says Froude in his essay on "England"s Forgotten
Worthies," in all seas and spheres "are the same indomitable Godfearing men
whose life was one great liturgy. "The ice was strong, but God was stronger," says
one of Frobisher"s men, after grinding a night and a day among the icebergs, not
waiting for God to come down and split the ice for them, but toiling through the
long hours himself and the rest fending all the vessel with poles and planks, with
death glaring at them out of the rocks."
Dr. W. C. Smith quoted this text at the Jubilee Assembly of the Free Church of
Scotland in1893. He said: "When Moses first appeared before Pharaoh, all he asked
was that the people might be allowed to go a three days" journey into the desert that
they might offer to the Lord those sacrifices which it was not lawful to offer in
Egypt, where bulls and goats were not sacrifices but deities. There was no sort of
deception in that request. Moses, you may be very certain, honestly meant to return
as soon as the religious rites had been performed. But when Israel had left Goshen
the very first word that God said to his servant was "Speak to the children of Israel
that they go forward". ulla vestigia retrorsum. Their way lay onward and they
were to realize the great history and the noble destiny to which they had been
appointed."
COFFMA , "PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA
(THE COMMA D GIVE )
"And Jehovah said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the
people of Israel that they go forward. And lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thy
hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go into the midst of
the sea on dry ground. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and
they shall go in after them: and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his
host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I
am Jehovah, when I have gotten me honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and
upon his horsemen."
"Wherefore criest thou unto me ...?" Moses did not record his prayer to Jehovah in
this situation, but we surely know that he did pray a most fervent and urgent
prayer, as we can conclude from God's answer to it, which Moses did relate.
"Go forward ..." o better motto for any time or people than this one, and yet what
a hopeless order it might have seemed to some when God gave it! God's commands

77. require only an affirmative human response to be effective. The means and ability
are always supplied by God Himself, and so it was here. It was the responsibility of
the people to go forward, and it was God's part to divide the seas and provide the
dry land.
We cannot tell how long Israel remained camped by the sea near Pi-hahiroth before
the divine order to cross the sea was given. The Israelites would not have moved
until the pillar of cloud and of fire moved, and it had taken them a day to come from
Etham, that being the point at which the spies of Pharaoh doubtless sent their lord
the message of Israel's apparent "wandering," an impression they surely received
from the reversal of directions there. Then, as Rawlinson calculated it, it would have
taken Pharaoh one day to get the message, another day to assemble his chariots, and
another three or four days to overtake the Israelites. From this, he observed that,
"The Jewish tradition that the Red Sea was crossed on the night of the 21st of Abib
( isan) is, therefore, a true one.[16]
COKE, "Exodus 14:15. And the Lord said unto Moses— We may observe once for
all, that though ‫ו‬ vau, in the Hebrew, and και in the Greek, have various
significations; yet our translators have almost invariably rendered them by the
particle and. A little variety had certainly added elegance and propriety to their
version: for if, in the present passage for instance, we read, now the Lord had said
unto Moses, a reason will be given for that confidence which Moses shews in the
former verse; and which, as the next words prove, was grounded on his prayer to
God. It is not to be conceived, that when the Lord says, Wherefore criest thou unto
me? he was displeased at Moses for so doing: it only implies, that, his prayers being
heard, he was now to exert all those rational endeavours, which are well consistent
with the state of prayer and absolute dependence upon God. Though we are to
apply to God by prayer, in the midst of distress; yet we are not to rest only therein:
but, with a firm reliance on that Power to whom we pray, are to exert every prudent
and proper endeavour for our own relief. Mr. Chais renders the former part of this
verse agreeable to our remark: Or l'Eternel avoit dit a Moise, ow the Lord had
said unto Moses.
CO STABLE, "Verses 15-25
The strong east wind that God sent ( Exodus 14:21) recalls the wind from God that
swept over the face of the primeval waters in creation ( Genesis 1:2). The cloud
became a source of light to the fleeing Israelites but darkness to the pursuing
Egyptians ( Exodus 14:19-20).
"Thus the double nature of the glory of God in salvation and judgment, which later
appears so frequently in Scripture, could not have been more graphically depicted."
[ ote: Kaiser, " Exodus ," p389.]
The angel switched from guiding to guarding the Israelites. The strong east wind
was another miracle like those that produced the plagues ( Exodus 14:21; cf. Psalm
77:16-19).

78. The two million Israelites could have passed through the sea in the time the text says
if they crossed in a wide column, perhaps a half-mile wide ( Exodus 14:22). Some
interpreters take the wall of water literally and others interpret it figuratively.
"The metaphor [water like a wall] is no more to be taken literally than when Ezra
9:9 says that God has given him a "wall" (the same word) in Israel. It is a poetic
metaphor to explain why the Egyptian chariots could not sweep in to right and left,
and cut Israel off; they had to cross by the same ford, directly behind the Israelites."
[ ote: Cole, p121. Cf. Cassuto, pp167-69.]
evertheless nothing in the text precludes a literal wall of water. [ ote: Davis,
pp163-68 , listed several ways of understanding what happened.] This seems to be
the normal meaning of the text.
The text does not say that Pharaoh personally perished in the Red Sea (cf. Exodus
14:8; Exodus 14:10; Exodus 14:28; Psalm 106:7-12; Psalm 136:13-15). [ ote: Cole,
p120. Cf. Jack Finegan, Let My People Go, p87; and Oliver Blosser, "Did the
Pharaoh of the Exodus Drown in the Red Sea?" It"s About Time, (July1987):11.]
TRAPP, "Exodus 14:15 And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou
unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:
Ver. 15. Wherefore criest thou unto me?] so., With inward groanings, without any
audible voice. Moses egit vocis silentio, ut corde clamaret. And God was readier to
answer than he to ask.
Speak unto the children of Israel,] q.d., There is something more to be done than to
pray. Ora et labora. (a) We must not only crave God’s help, but be forward in the
course whereby to make way for God’s help.
That they go forward.] Though upon a manifest danger. This is an act of strong
faith, pure obedience.
GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE, "And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest
thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.—Exo_14:15.
These words, which were spoken at the crisis of Israel’s history—at the very moment
when, so to speak, Israel came into existence as a nation—were the motto stamped upon
the whole subsequent history of the race.
Think when they were spoken. The children of Israel—a race of slaves who had lost all the
manliness that ever they possessed, in the long period of servitude they had spent in
Egypt—were called by God to go forth and realize His plans; and as this cowering band
stood hearing the chariot wheels of the Egyptians behind them—at that time it was, when
their hearts were sunk within them, that they turned to their leaders for guidance. Then the

79. message came clearly forth, “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.”
It was a terrible moment. The Egyptian army was pressing on behind them with chariots
and horsemen, and they had no means of defence. The sea lay before them, and they had
no ability to cross it. They already talked of their graves, wishing that they had been
prepared somewhere else than in the wilderness. The very prophet paused and was at a
loss. While he rebuked his refractory people, he knew no longer how to guide them. He
assured them that they should be delivered, but he could not see how that deliverance
should be brought to pass. Towards them he kept a bold front, and told them that if they
would “stand still, the Lord would fight for them.” But his own heart was at a stand. He did
not murmur like the tribes whom he led. He did not despair like them. But he remained
motionless, and gave himself to supplication. Then came the Divine word to him:
“Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.” It
was an inspiriting word. It was so to him, and it may be made so to us.
There is a story in the books of the old Jewish Rabbis, which tells us that the Israelites
when they reached the Red Sea after their escape from Egypt were very excited. Now
Israelites always were and always are rather excitable. But they were especially excitable
on that occasion. They were all right when everything went well and smoothly; but when
things were not going well and smoothly, and the Egyptians were hurrying up behind them
and the sea was in front of them, they grew so excited that Moses had his hands full. And
they all wanted to do different things; they had not yet learned to trust God and Moses in
time of danger; and so they cried out all at once, giving one another different advice and
wanting to do different things. Four classes especially were among them. Some said, Let
us throw ourselves into the sea; others said, The best thing we can do is to go back to
Egypt; others said, Let us go to meet the Egyptians and fight them; and others, Let us
shout against them and see what will happen. To those who said, Let us drown ourselves
in the sea, Moses said, “Fear not, but stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord.” To
those who wanted to get out of their trouble by going back to live in Egypt once more as
slaves, Moses said, No, no, as you have seen the Egyptians to-day you shall never see
them again. To those who wanted to give battle to the Egyptians he said, Restrain
yourselves, “the Lord will fight for you.” And those who thought that shouting would be
useful were told—You be quiet. Then when he had got them all in order, Moses did what
they had not thought of. He appealed to God Himself, and from Him came the command,
Speak to the children of Israel, that they journey forward.1 [Note: S. Singer.]
In a great thaw on one of the American rivers there was a man on one of the cakes of ice
which was not actually separated from the unbroken ice. In his terror he did not see this,
but knelt down and began to pray aloud for God to deliver him. The spectators on the
shore cried, “Stop praying, and run for the shore.”2 [Note: C. H. Spurgeon.]
I
Progress
“Go forward.” These words contain within themselves all that is to be said about human
progress. They express the fact that progress is to be the law of men’s affairs, that God
has impressed it upon them. They explain the Divine purpose which marks itself in the
story of men’s affairs. We can profitably look back upon the past only if we go there to
seek lessons for the future. We can profitably seek lessons for the future only if they are to
bring to our hearts hope, eternal hope, greater power in the future than there has been in
the past, greater zeal, greater devotion to God’s service, loftier aspirations, higher aims,
and the constant increase of the standard of man’s endeavour.
Into whatever province of Divine government we look we find that “Forward” is one of
God’s great watchwords—onward to that state which is higher, more perfect. “Forward”

80. was the watchword of creation when God looked upon this earth, formless and void, and
when darkness was upon the face of its deep—“Forward” until “thy face shall be covered
with light and beauty, and thou shalt be the happy dwelling-place of intelligent and happy
beings.” “Forward” is the watchword of redemption. The stone cut out without hands
should become a great mountain, and fill the whole earth. The grain of mustard seed
should become a great tree, amid the branches of which the fowls of the air should find
shelter. The day of small things should be followed by a millennium of peace and triumph,
and an eternity of glory.
“That they go forward.” This little word “go” is a familiar word to every follower of Christ.
A true follower of His always is stirred by a spirit of “go.” A going Christian is a growing
Christian. A going Church has always been a growing Church. Those ages when the
Church lost the vision of her Master’s face on Olivet, and let other sounds crowd out of her
ears the sound of His voice, were stagnant ages. They are commonly spoken of in history
as the dark ages. “Go” is the ringing keynote of the Christian life, whether in man or in the
Church.1 [Note: S. D. Gordon, Quiet Talks on Service, 36.]
II
The Direction
In what directions should progress be made? To what are we to go forward?
1. To more knowledge. The first essential, in order to all other progress, is progress in
knowledge, a continual pressing into clearer and fuller knowledge of God and of His
manifold revelations of Himself. When St. Paul breathed forth his fervent wishes for the
Colossian converts, his first petition was in these words: “That ye might be filled with the
knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” Similarly, when he opens
his own heart to the Philippians, he speaks of counting all things but loss “for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord,” and among the main objects of his
desire specifies “that I may know Him.” Sir Isaac Newton, towards the close of his
illustrious life, spoke of himself as a child who had gathered a few shells on the shores of
a boundless sea. What he felt in regard to nature, St. Paul felt in things spiritual—that there
were heights above him he had not scaled, depths beneath him he had not fathomed; that
rich as he was in grace, there were yet hidden in God treasures of wisdom and knowledge
which would make him richer still. Secrets of Christ’s love and power he had guessed at,
but felt that that love and power utterly transcended his highest experience. For himself,
therefore, and for those for whom he yearned, he was still covetous of more, to know more
of that which passeth knowledge. And such, down through all the centuries, has been the
aim and effort of the Christian life. Each generation received the measure of knowledge its
predecessor had gained; but along with the old, new aspects presented themselves, not
contradicting but broadening out the old, and thereupon the enlarged but unfinished
structure passed on to other hands.
Spurgeon has three recommendations to give.
(1) Make great efforts to acquire information, especially of a Biblical kind. Be masters of
your Bibles whatever other works you have not searched, be at home with the writings of
the prophets and apostles. “Let the word of God dwell in you richly.” Having given that the
precedence, neglect no field of knowledge. The presence of Jesus on the earth has
sanctified the whole realm of nature; and what He has cleansed, call not you common. All
that your Father has made is yours, and you should learn from it.
I begin to perceive that it is necessary to know some one thing to the bottom—were it only
literature. And yet, sir, the man of the world is a great feature of this age; he is possessed
of an extraordinary mass and variety of knowledge; he is everywhere at home; he has seen

81. life in all its phases; and it is impossible but that this great habit of existence should bear
fruit.1 [Note: R. L. Stevenson, The Dynamiter.]
(2) Learn always to discriminate between things that differ; and at this particular time this
point needs insisting on very emphatically. Many run after novelties, charmed with every
new thing; learn to judge between truth and its counterfeits. Others adhere to old
teachings; like limpets they stick to the rock; and yet these may only be ancient errors;
wherefore “prove all things,” and “hold fast that which is good.” The use of the sieve and
the winnowing fan is much to be commended. A man who has asked the Lord to give him
clear eyes, by which he shall see the truth, and discern its bearings, and who, by reason of
the constant exercise of his faculties, has obtained an accurate judgment, is one fit to be a
leader of the Lord’s host.
(3) Hold firmly what you have learned. Alas! in these times, certain men glory in being
weathercocks; they hold fast nothing; they have, in fact, nothing worth the holding. “Ever
learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth,” is the motto of the worst
rather than of the best of men. Are they to be our model? “I shape my creed every week”
was the confession of one of these divines to me. Whereunto shall I liken such unsettled
ones? Are they not like those birds which frequent the Golden Horn, and are to be seen
from Constantinople, of which it is said that they are always on the wing, and never rest?
No one ever saw them alight on the water or on the land, they are for ever poised in mid-
air. The natives call them “lost souls”—seeking rest and finding none; and, methinks, men
who have no personal rest in the truth, if they are not themselves unsaved, are, at least,
very unlikely to be the means of saving others.
Knowledge hath two wings, Opinion hath but one,
And Opinion soon fails in its orphan flight;
The bird with one wing soon droops its head and falls,
But give it two wings, and it gains its desire.2 [Note: Jalaluddin Rumi.]
2. To higher life. “Go forward” is a summons to individuals and to the Church to advance
in Christian character. No worthy, no abiding character can be formed without a basis of
belief. But on the other hand, what avails a foundation if it is not built upon? What will it
avail to say or think that we are of the root if we show none of the fruit? So the command
runs: Go forward, build up yourselves on your most holy faith. Stone after stone, row after
row, of gracious character has to be built up with care and diligence. Add to your faith
courage, and to courage knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance
patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly
kindness love.
No one reaches at once the full measure of the stature of manhood in Jesus Christ. In Him
there is placed before us an ideal, infinitely perfect and beautiful, to which we may be ever
drawing nearer, and still find it shining above us, like a star that dwells apart. His riches we
shall never exhaust, freely as we may draw upon Him. As God has made the soul of man
capable of indefinite expansion, so He has set before it in Christ a career of infinite growth
and progress.1 [Note: J. Legge.]
Schiller says it is a scientific fact that the animal nature of man, if let have its way,
becomes dominant over the spiritual toward middle life; and John Henry Newman says
that unless they are subdued by high religious and moral principle, material interests
inevitably submerge man’s whole nature into selfish indifference towards all with which
self is not concerned. And Dante places man’s encounter with the three animals—the
fierce lion of wrath and pride; luxury, the spotted panther; and the gaunt, hungry wolf of

82. avarice—in the middle period of man’s life. There can be no doubt that men and women
nearing middle age need to be roused to the necessity of keeping close to God as the only
source of fresh impulse to righteousness.2 [Note: L. A. Banks.]
3. To fuller service. There is among us sometimes a notion that religion consists rather in
passive emotions than in active deeds. As if in religion man had simply to bare his heart
that it might be played on as a stringed instrument by the hand of God. As if spiritual
thought and emotion were the whole of religion. That is but half the truth. Out of this
inward experience must grow a life devoted to good works. “Pure religion and undefiled
before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and
to keep himself unspotted from the world.” “Not every one that saith to me Lord, Lord, but
he that doeth the will of my Father, shall enter the kingdom.”
After all, we shall be known by what we have done, more than by what we have said. I hope
that, like the Apostles, our memorial will be our acts. There are good brethren in the world
who are unpractical. The grand doctrine of the Second Advent makes them stand with
open mouths, peering into the skies, so that I am ready to say, “Ye men of Plymouth, why
stand ye here gazing up into Heaven?” The fact that Jesus Christ is to come again is not a
reason for star-gazing, but for working in the power of the Holy Ghost. Be not so taken up
with speculations as to prefer a Bible-reading over an obscure passage in Revelation to
teaching in a ragged-school or discoursing to the poor concerning Jesus. We must have
done with day-dreams, and get to work. I believe in eggs, but we must get chickens out of
them. I do not mind how big your egg is, it may be an ostrich’s egg if you like; but if there
is nothing in it, pray clear away the shell. If something comes of your speculations, God
bless them; and even if you should go a little further than I think it wise to venture in that
direction, still, if you are thereby made more useful, God be praised for it!1 [Note: C. H.
Spurgeon.]
Some seven centuries ago there was a young Italian keeping a feast with his friends one
night; and he wearied of the feast and of the jests. There was nothing wrong, only a
friendly feast. He quietly withdrew and went out and stood thoughtfully beneath the blue
Italian sky. By and by his friends came out, and they walked home together, and they said
to him, “You are in love.” He said nothing, but he had a far-away look upon his face, like a
man who is looking into another world. “You are in love. Who is it?” the friends said. “I
am,” he replied, “and my bride is called Poverty. No one has been anxious to woo her
since Jesus lived, and I am going to serve her all my days.” That young Italian became
immortal as one of the greatest Christians who ever lived, under the name of St. Francis.
He felt the burden of responsibility to serve the world. He lifted up his rod in God’s
strength and went forward.2 [Note: L. A. Banks.]
III
The Hindrances
What are the hindrances to progress? The history of the children of Israel suggests these
three—
1. We shall not go forward if we look back. Jeremiah describes the people asking the way
to Zion with their faces thitherward. After the roll-call of God’s heroes in the Epistle to the
Hebrews there is the application, “Let us run the race that is set before us, looking unto
Jesus.” With very many the reason they never go forward is that they live looking
backward. The story of Lot’s wife has a lesson for all time—turned not into salt, but into
stone. Nothing is more sure to turn one to stone than to live looking back. It is to lose all
sympathy with the present and all hope for the future; and that past is always distorted
and deceptive. Israel was kept from going forward because they dreamed of the leeks, and
garlic, and cucumber, and the sweet waters of the Nile. How conveniently they forgot the

83. crack of the taskmaster’s whip and the cruel decree that doomed their sons to death!
I was on Dartmoor some years ago, when we were overtaken by a dense mist. My friend,
who knew the moor well, said he would bring us straight to the point we wanted, knowing
the part of the stream at which we stood and the direction in which we wanted to go. For a
while we went on safely enough; then I stopped and turned to button my waterproof. He
too turned for a moment to speak to me. Then instantly he cried, “I have lost my bearings.
That turn did it. I don’t know the way any longer.” We went on, thinking we were right, but
an hour later, found ourselves back by the bank of the river we had left. We had gone in a
complete circle. “Now,” said he, “we can start again; but we must not stop for anything.”
Away we went, and he led us right across to the point we wanted. Later he explained to me
that knowing the direction at the outset he kept his eye on some furze bush or rock
straight before him and so led us in a fairly straight line. “If you lose that,” said he, “you
are sure to go in a circle.”1 [Note: M. G. Pearse.]
Here must the Christian onward press,
Through toil and sweat, through foul and fair;
In days of gladness or distress
Of looking back he must beware.
His life of grace must still advance,
His onward gaze fixed on the goal,
With penance, ever new, enhance
The love and virtue of his soul.
2. Another hindrance to progress is to go round instead of going forward. The Sunday
Service, hymn, and prayer, and sermon, the round of observances; the daily prayer, the
round of phrases. How many of us know this same disease? How many of us suffer from
it? Always going on; never going farther. Always going on, but never going forward. The
old failings just as they were; no victories, no new possessions, no new visions, no new
hopes, no added strength, no fuller service; day after day, week after week, year after
year—the same fixed round.
I met with a singular occurrence during my holiday this year. I had gone for a day’s fishing.
The river was very low and clear, and my only hope was in crouching under the rocks and
hiding myself. Suddenly as I bent down absorbed in my work, not a sound about me but
the tinkle of the waterfall, or the brawl of the shallows, there came a faint bleat at my side. I
looked over the rock, and there was a sheep standing deep in the water. I called to my
friend who was with me, and together we lifted the poor beast up over the steep bushy
bank. To our unutterable disgust, it instantly turned and flopped into the water again.
Again we leaned over the bank, and lifted it out once more, and this time took care to take
it far enough to be safe. At once it began to walk, but only went round and round. “What is
the matter with it?” said I, recalling the West-country saying, “as maäzed as a sheep.”
“Oh,” said my friend,” it has got the rounders, something the matter with the brain. They
think they are going on, but they are always going round.” “Poor thing,” said I. “I know
many people like that, only it is something the matter with the heart. They think they are
going on, but they are always going round.”1 [Note: M. G. Pearse.]

84. 3. A third hindrance is fear. Israel often looked forward, but got no farther. They said,
“Their cities are walled up to heaven. The men are giants, in whose sight we are as
grasshoppers,” and they went back again to the dreary round in the wilderness. Now our
safety is in going on.
When I was in South Africa, I heard a humorous story—true, I may say, for it came to me at
first hand. Two young men who had three days’ holiday had set their hearts on riding up
the country each to see the young lady to whom he was engaged. With light hearts they
started, and entered the forest through which we were riding when my friend told me the
story. Surrounded by the glory of the blue sky, under the shadow of the trees they were
riding along briskly, when suddenly they were startled by a terrible roar. They pulled up
their horses instantly and turned to each other. “That is a lion. No doubt about that,” said
one. “It is not safe to go on,” said the other. Then each thought of the lady he loved so
well, and begrudged that the rare holiday should be spoiled, and so they pushed on a few
yards farther. Then came another roar, and again they stopped. “It is a lion—enraged too.”
And they dreaded to proceed. Along the path came a cheery old gentleman, who greeted
them with a bright “Good-day,” and then disappeared in front of them amongst the trees.
They had called to him about the lion that threatened them, but he was stone deaf, and
thinking only it was some pleasant observation about the weather, had nodded and gone
on. Once more there came the roar. The horsemen, concerned more about the safety of
him who had just left them than their own, said, “We must go and warn him. He is too deaf
to hear the roar.” Then was it, as they turned the corner, that they reached a round pool in
the heart of the wood, and on the edge of it there sat a group of bull-frogs, whose thunder
had melted the hearts of the lovers, and threatened their holiday. With a laugh at their own
fright, they hastened on their way. “It is a lion,” saith Fear. “We must stay.” But he who
goes on shall find most commonly that it is but a bull-frog. Go forward.1 [Note: M. G.
Pearse.]
Be you still, be you still, trembling heart;
Remember the wisdom out of the old days.
He who trembles before the flame and the flood,
And the winds that blow through the starry ways,
Let the starry winds and the flame and the flood
Cover over and hide, for he hath no part
With the proud, majestical multitude.2 [Note: W. B. Yeats.]
ELLICOTT, "Verses 15-18
(15-18) Wherefore criest thou unto me?—Like the people (Exodus 14:10), Moses had cried
to Jehovah, though he tells us of his cry only thus indirectly. God made answer that it was
not a time to cry, but to act: “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward,” &c.
The Israelites were to strike their tents at once, and prepare for a forward movement.
Moses was to descend to the edge of the sea, with his rod in his hand, and to stretch it out
over the sea, and then await the consequences, which would be a “division” of the
waters—the sea-bed would for a certain space become dry, and Israel would be able to
cross to the other side (Exodus 14:16); the Egyptians would follow, and then destruction
would come upon them, and God would “get himself honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all
his host” (Exodus 14:17-18). The exact mode of the destruction was not announced.

85. PETT, "Verses 15-31
Yahweh Reveals His Power By Destroying the Egyptian Forces (Exodus 14:15-31).
a Israel is to go forward and Moses must lift up his staff over the sea and
divide it (Exodus 14:15-16 a).
b The children of Israel will go into the sea on dry ground (Exodus 14:16 b).
c Yahweh will get Himself honour against Pharaoh and all his host (Exodus
14:17-18).
d Israel are protected and the Egyptians hindered by the pillar of cloud and
fire (Exodus 14:19-20).
e Moses stretches out his hand over the sea and Yahweh makes the sea dry
land (Exodus 14:21).
e The children of Israel go into the midst of the on dry land (Exodus 14:22).
d The pursuing Egyptians are discomfited by the pillar of fire and of cloud
(Exodus 14:23-24).
c Yahweh does get Himself honour against Pharaoh and all his host (Exodus
14:25-28).
b The children of Israel walk on dry land in the midst of the sea (Exodus
14:29).
a Israel see what Yahweh has done and believe (Exodus 14:30-31).
ote how in ‘a’ Israel is to go forward and Moses must lift up his staff over the sea
and divide it, while in the parallel Israel will see what Yahweh has done and believe.
In ‘b’ the children of Israel will go into the sea on dry ground, while in the parallel
the children of Israel walk on dry land in the midst of the sea. In ‘c’ Yahweh will get
Himself honour against Pharaoh and all his host, and in the parallel we have the
description of how He did so. In ‘d’ Israel are protected and the Egyptians hindered
by the pillar of cloud and fire, while in the parallel the pursuing Egyptians are
discomfited by the pillar of fire and of cloud. In ‘e’ Moses stretches out his hand
over the sea and Yahweh makes the sea dry land while in the parallel the children of
Israel go into the midst of the on dry land.
Exodus 14:15-18
‘And Yahweh said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the children of Israel that
they must go forward. And as for you, you lift up your staff and stretch out your
hand over the sea and divide it, and the children of Israel will go into the middle of
the sea on dry ground. And as for me, behold I will make the hearts of the Egyptians
strong and they will go in after them. And I will get honour for myself on Pharaoh
and on all his hosts, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I have
achieved honour on Pharaoh, and on his chariots and on his horsemen.” ’
At Moses cry God made an enigmatic reply. It was not a rebuke but an assertion to
increase his confidence. Why had Moses cried to Him? The time for calling on Him
was past. His purpose was already guaranteed. What he should rather do is tell the
people to go forward. Then He explains what He will do. Moses is to lift his staff
over the sea and the sea will divide and let them through on ‘dry land’, that is, land
from which the water has withdrawn, muddy but not waterlogged.

86. Furthermore He promises that the Egyptians will be made foolhardy enough to
follow them. Then He, Yahweh, will gain honour for Himself by defeating them
along with all Pharaoh’s mighty weapons of war, his army, his chariots and his
horsemen.
“And the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” Again we have one of the themes
of the narrative. That Yahweh may be known as what He is. See Exodus 6:3.
BI, "Wherefore criest thou unto Me? . . . Go forward..
Go forward
Men are more ready to cry out for help than to help themselves. They are more ready to
call for more light, means, privileges, than to use faithfully what they possess. They are
more ready to complain than to exert themselves; to wonder at what the Divine
Providence has done, or to speculate on what it intends to do, than to observe its will,
and stand in the line of their duty, and “go forward.”
1. And first, when we are confused with uncertain speculations as to points of
religious doctrine and the designs of Providence, let us rest from the questions that
are beyond mortal solving, from the debate and from those who would pretend to
settle it for us, and obey the practical exhortation of the text. What we can discover
and know may not be much; but what we have to do is plain enough, and deserves
the chief place in our attention. Theories are many, and the counsel of the Lord is
hid; but what He requires of us there needs but singleness of heart to discern and
follow. The absolute truth may often be beyond us; but the right, as distinct from the
wrong, is in the sentiment of every one’s conscience and in the power of his hand.
The present age is remarkably bent upon a prying kind of research into the deep
things of religious faith. Let me not find fault with this tendency, so long as it is
reverent, and not presumptuous; so long as it is humble, and not disputatious; so
long as it is neither carping, nor over-anxious, nor neglectful of nearer claims. But it
has its dangers. Sometimes it distracts the thoughts with fears and unprofitable
conjectures; and sometimes it absorbs them in cares that are intense, but stationary,
holding back the mind from a manly progress and impeding the cheerful diligence of
life. Do not gaze backward, nor pause to contemplate anxiously what is in front, but
move. If you are faithful, God will carry you through. Work and you shall believe. Do
and you shall know. You shall learn more that is worth the learning through your
conscience than through your researches. You will be guided to the best convictions,
by being heartily engaged in an obedient service.
2. Thus, duty is better than speculation; and this is the first lesson that our subject
teaches. But the mind is troubled with other things than the doubtful aspects of
truth. There are afflicted and dejected hours, when we hardly care to inquire about
anything. A feeling of discouragement hangs about the heart. Now, sorrow is
naturally sluggish, selfish—as indisposed to strive for anything as to be thankful for
anything. It chooses to sit. It looks upon the ground. It nurses its gloomy
meditations. When it is caused by losses and disappointments, it is apt to make men
think that there is nothing that deserves their winning, or at least that it is not worth
while for them any longer to try. No doubt it makes many a man better. It brings the
thoughtless to reflection. Sorrow is a holy thing when it is rightly accepted. It gives a
consecrated turn to the experiences and affections of our humanity. And yet it has a
power of an opposite kind; and they who come under that power are rendered worse
instead of better by it. They lose their usefulness, as well as give up their own good.

87. Others add the sin of murmuring to that of supineness. Why have they been thus
distressed? What have they done to be so hemmed in? They complain of the very
prophets and guiding messengers of God, because they show them no more mercy,
and will encourage them in no other way than one that they refuse to follow. They
want to be relieved just where they stand. They want to be delivered without any
thought or effort of their own. But it is not so that God will have it. “Speak unto
them,” is His word still, “that they go forward.” The best consolation is in your tasks,
with their straining toil or their steady and quiet occupation.
3. But it is perhaps the labour imposed upon your unwilling strength that most
disconcerts you. The apprehension of coming calamities has fastened its terrors
upon you. The fears of a faint heart form the chief trial of your lot. Not an arrow has
reached you yet from the pursuing host of your enemies, but you hear their
trumpets, and you are dismayed at the trampling of their approach. You have not yet
wet your shoes in the waves of the intercepting sea; but you look at its broad flow,
and are dismayed at what seems to you its unfathomable and impassable depth. You
are afraid of what you may be compelled to do; or you are afraid of what you may be
appointed to suffer. What is so depressing as this dread, when once it settles down
upon a man? How it paralyzes his resolution 1 But no power can assist him, at least
not in the manner he would choose—by interfering to change his whole situation,
and that without any step of his own taking. He must stand in his lot. He must march
at command. There will be always something like a chase in the rear. There will be
some gulf crossing his advanced post. He will not be listened to, if he sits and prays
that all this may be otherwise. At the same time the help that was refused to his
complaint and his supplication awaits his diligence. Let him “go forward.” The
cowardice that was his worst enemy shall then be vanquished. Beware how you waste
in sighs the time that should be spent in exertion. Beware how you look abroad for
the succour that you will contribute nothing to bring. Beware how you abandon your
own cause. Bear your part, according to the imperfect ability that you have received,
in the work of your deliverance. Commit the issues of events to the Sovereign
Disposer. They may venture, as long as their trust is in Him. “Speak unto all My
people,” saith God, “that they go forward.” Their prayer is good; but their obedience
is better. His grace shall be sufficient for them while they move towards it. (N. L.
Frothingham.)
The journey through life
It points out, with sufficient clearness, the best mode of journeying through life. “Go
forward”—
(1) from that point to which God has conducted us;
(2) along the path God bids us take;
(3) by the light which God affords;
(4) with the staff which God provides; and
(5) to the land which God prepares.
I. You are, then, willing to go forward? But whether you will or not, you must. What
better starting-point can you discover than that from which Israel began—the point to
which God has brought you now? Stop for a moment, my impatient fellow-traveller; we
are not speaking of the point to which you have now brought yourself, but of that to

88. which God has conducted you; and you must very soon, I think, feel that there may be an
important difference between these two. God may, indeed, command us to go forward
from the point to which He has Himself conducted us, but not by any means to make
advance on that wrong path which we have chosen through our own folly and our sin. In
such a case, God must have rather asked, “Why do you cry to Me? You are yourselves the
cause of your distress and misery; there is no safety on this road, but only death and
horror; speak unto the Israelites that they return immediately!” But now, because the
Lord Himself has pointed out the place where they were to encamp, between Pi-hahiroth
and Baal-Zephon, they are in the position which He bade them occupy; they now are
standing in the place where He would have them be: now we may speak of going on.
“Advance!”—it is a glorious word; and that which it denotes deserves the application of
our noblest powers. But, in advancing, the main question is—not whether we are rising
rapidly enough, but simply whether we are really on the right track, and keeping the
great end in view. Yes; “Forward” is still a glorious word, but not the first, scarcely the
second that we should employ; and you will be in a position to apply it with advantage to
yourselves only when, like these ransomed ones, you have an Egypt at your back, and a
Canaan before. But what think you? O man of sin, the path you now pursue leads down
to death; repentance is the only way to life—regeneration of the soul the first, although
perhaps the least felt requisite for entering on the new period. Nay, no advance ere you
have first stood still, made full confession of your guilt, sought for deliverance from
worse than Egypt’s bondage, and cried for blood more precious than the blood of even
the spotless Paschal Lamb, to hide your sins!
II. “Advance!” The order may be given easily, but is it quite as speedily performed? Then
listen, in the second place, to what is further given in the summons—advance along the
way which God commands. “Which God commands.” This, in a certain aspect, makes
the thing much easier, but in another much more difficult. You will at once perceive this
when you place yourself again in the position of the Israelites. Moses need not, in deep
anxiety, inquire, “Whither?” for there is but one path, and not another given him to
choose. There is the most peremptory command not to go back; nor would good come of
turning to the right or left; moreover, there are mountains rising up to heaven, and
rocks, which shut the people in, as if within a fortress. Forward, then! But well may we,
also, in spite of not a little difference, find a resemblance to the path on which the Lord
once more calls you and me to make advance. That way itself is, in its leading features,
quite as plain, as difficult, and yet withal as safe, as that for which the Israelites now
looked. If we are Christians, there is only one way possible for our understanding, our
faith, our conscience; and that is the way God bids us go. See that the path before you is
indeed the way appointed by the Lord; and do not venture on a single step before you
bow the knee to Him in deep humility. But if it be quite evident that just this, and no
other, is the road which God deems best for you, then act as if you heard His voice from
heaven saying, “Why do you cry to Me? Surely you know that I am not a God who says,
‘Go forward,’ without giving strength wherewith to go.” Nay, verily, God has not
changed, so that He now should call His people to advance into the sea, and leave them
there to perish in the flood. Suppose the Israelites, alarmed at the idea of advancing
through the waves, had taken time to think, and then attempted to retreat; or sought,
amidst the mountains on each side, an opening by which they might escape approaching
death- according to the judgment of the natural man, they would have acted with the
utmost prudence, yet they would have but been hastening into the yawning grave. The
passage through the sea turns out to be much safer than the path along the quiet shore,
as soon as it appears that God is with us. It is precisely when the prophet Jonah seeks to
flee from Nineveh, and find a safe retreat in Tarshish, that such mortal danger comes so

89. close on him; and, on the other hand, when Paul, led by the Lord to Rome, courageously
defies Euroclydon and every storm, his life is saved, although the ship is lost. Our life is
ever free from danger when we risk it in the service of the Lord; because, as has been
truly said,we are immortal while God needs us here.
III. “But what avails it me, even though I know the way, so long as, in short-sightedness,
I still must grope about under dark clouds?” You are quite right; but you too, just like
Israel, are this day summoned to advance under the light that God affords you can
imagine that you now behold the mysterious fiery pillar, scattering its golden rays upon
the silvery waters in the darkness of the night, and straightway turning its fierce
lightnings on the host of the Egyptians. But say, has not God, in His written word, sent
light from heaven sufficient in amount and clear enough to brighten, with its friendly
rays, many a gloomy night and many a cloudy day? And have you ever been kept waiting
long without an answer, when, with the earnest question: “What will the Lord have me
to do?” you took your precious Bible up, in silent solitude, not to consult it, like so many,
just as if it were a kind of heathen oracle—examining the first page that might open up to
you—but earnestly endeavouring to find out what the Lord desires? But is it not the case
that we are just like that rebellious Israel—constantly inclined to cheese their own way
rather than simply pursue the path to which the cloudy pillar guided them? And even
after we have been already taught, on numberless occasions, through the shame and
injury that have befallen us, we still direct our eyes continually to the ignis fatuus of
human wisdom, when we rather should fear God, and give attention to His word. And
what should hinder you from choosing that same word of God to be a lamp unto your
feet, a light unto your path? Should the obscurities and enigmas that here present
themselves to you prove such a barrier? Even the fiery pillar had for Israel its
impenetrable and mysterious side; but this much they perceived quite well, that it
afforded them more light than a thousand other lights. And there is something
wondrous in the fact that this great light illumines everything, although you know not
where it has its seat; nor can you find in anything besides a proper substitute when it has
been removed. Or—just acknowledge it—are you offended at the vehemence with which
the Word of God denounces sin? Yes, verily, the cloudy pillar sent forth dreadful
thunderbolts, but they were only aimed at hardened ones like Pharaoh; and that same
light of God’s unspotted holiness, which is so terrible to sinners, is the consolation of all
those who make His mercy the foundation of their hopes. Or has that light no longer an
attraction for you, inasmuch as it has lost the splendour of most novelties? Surely the
fiery pillar was quite as invaluable in the fortieth year that followed Israel’s Exodus, as in
the first night when they were redeemed? And should you not be rather cheered by the
consideration that, when everything to-day announces instability and change, the word
of God endures for aye?
IV. But do you make complaint—not against God, but rather against yourself? And do
you fear your strength will fail? We could not urge you to advance, did we not also, in the
fourth place, indicate the staff which God bestows on us. Let it suffice to state that,
without living faith working within the heart, it is as hopeless to set out upon life’s
journey as it would have been impossible to march through the Red Sea without the all-
prevailing, wonder-working rod. Poor man, you rise up, but you know not whence; you
wander here and there, hut do not know how long; you ask for strength, yet know not
whence it may be gained! The Lord’s words are most true: “Cursed is the man that
maketh flesh his arm . . . Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord.” But have you
never found that all things are possible to him that believeth, and that even mountains of
difficulties seemed to dwindle away into molehills when touched by this wonder-working
staff? The time will often come when you shall stand before a task for which your own

90. unaided wisdom will be quite unequal; but the prayer of faith works wonders, and
strength comes down from above into the heart which owns, in deep humility, that it is
naught hut weakness when apart from God.
V. The Lord arouses us to march on to the land which He prepares for us. You are aware
that Israel was called not merely to forsake the land of Egypt, nor even to spend a desert
life in peace and liberty, but to march on into a land which God, ages before, had
promised to bestow on the posterity of those who were His friends. Not one of all those
multitudes who passed through the Red Sea had ever seen that promised land. Upon the
ground of credible authority, they were constrained to the belief that it was a reality
awaiting them beyond the flood. Not even the wisest of them all was free to choose the
mode of access to that land which flowed with milk and honey. But their great Leader
ever held Himself responsible for the result, although the moment when the earthly
paradise was to unfold its gates was still kept in deep secrecy. Nor are we called to
wander aimlessly, and to march on without exactly knowing where we are to go. The
Lord from heaven has appeared on this vile earth that we, exiles from Eden, might have
an eternal dwelling-place; and though no messenger has come back from the habitations
where He has prepared us room, we know, as surely as we live, that what no eye hath
seen, what ear hath never heard, what hath not entered into any human heart, is hid
with Christ in God for all who know and love Him. Whoever will draw back unto
perdition may perceive, in Israel’s case, that while God presses upon sinful men His
heavenly gift, He will by no means let Himself be mocked. The way that leads to it may
not, perhaps, be quite the shortest (and those who, like Israel, are slow to learn require a
longer training-time), still less is it the most agreeable, but most assuredly it is the best.
And the inheritance itself will only seem more beautiful if we, like Moses, are obliged to
wait a long time on God that we may get possession of the whole. Do you know any
prospect more inspiriting than that of one day having done entirely with that daily dying
which we now call “life”; of our at last, some time or other, breathing with a pleasure and
a freedom we have never yet felt here, where every day brought us more than enough of
its own ills; of once more hearing there, too, the command, “Forward!” and then
advancing through the spacious fields of heaven, but finding nowhere near us any foe,
nor seeing any wilderness before? Surely, even though it cost us other forty anxious
years, as it cost Israel the Promised Land, what one of us would think the price of such a
calling far too dear? (J. J. Van Oosterzee, D. D.)
Unseasonable prayer
I. Sometimes the answer will be very unsatisfactory.
1. Because I was brought up to do so.
2. It is a part of my religion. These pray as a Dervish dances or a Fakir holds his arm
aloft; but they know nothing of the spiritual reality of prayer (Mat_6:7).
3. It is a right thing to do. So indeed it is if we pray aright, but the mere repetition of
pious words is vanity (Isa_29:13).
4. I feel easier in my mind after it. Ought you to feel easier? May not your formal
prayers be a mockery of God, and so an increase of sin (Isa_1:12-15; Eze_20:31)?
5. I think it meritorious and saving. This is sheer falsehood, and a high offence
against the merit and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.

91. II. Sometimes the answer will betray ignorance.
1. When it hinders immediate repentance. Instead of quitting sin and mourning over
it, some men talk of praying. “To obey is better than sacrifice,” and better than
supplication.
2. When it keeps from faith in Jesus. The gospel is not “pray and be saved”; but
“believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Mat_7:21; Joh_6:47).
3. When we suppose that it fits us for Jesus. We must come to Him as sinners, and
not set up our prayers as a sort of righteousness (Luk_18:11-12).
4. When we think that prayer alone will bring a blessing.
III. Sometimes the answer will be quite correct.
1. Because I must. I am in trouble, and must pray or perish. Sighs and cries are not
made to order, they are the irresistible outbursts of the heart (Psa_42:1; Rom_8:26).
2. Because I know I shall be heard, and therefore I feel a strong desire to deal with
God in supplication. “Because He hath inclined His ear unto me, therefore will I call
upon Him” (Psa_116:2).
3. Because I delight in it: it brings rest to my mind, and hope to my heart. It is a
sweet means of communion with my God. “It is good for me to draw near to God”
(Psa_73:28).
4. Because I feel that I can best express the little faith and repentance I have by
crying to the Lord for more.
5. Because these grow as I pray. No doubt we may pray ourselves into a good frame if
God the Holy Ghost blesses us.
6. Because I look for all from God, and therefore I cry to Him (Psa_72:5). (C. H.
Spurgeon.)
Self-help
Self-help is one of the popular topics of the day, and seems to be commended in the
passage which contains the text. Help thyself, and Heaven will help thee, is a proverb
which, both in its French and its English form, is widely current; and wisely current, if
we understand the Divine principle on which it rests. Read in the light of Scripture, it
does not run, Venture, and the Almighty hand will meet thee, the help will come; but
rather, Venture, for the Everlasting Arms are around thee, the help is here. Thus read, it
is an all-mastering truth. But what is the principle here, the essential principle of the
progress? Is it, March, and I will meet you; or March, for I have led you; I, not you, am
responsible for these straits; you are here because through them lies the path to victory
and glory. Therefore “cry not unto Me”; your being here is My answer to your cry. “Speak
unto the children of Israel that they go forward.”
I. Their standing there at all was a miracle of Almighty power and love. By a series of the
most tremendous miracles recorded in history, God’s hand had led them out to that
mountain gorge, and shut them in between the moaning sea and their raging foes.
Pharaoh drew near, but God was even visibly more near. A great army was gathering
behind them; but the angel of God’s presence was visibly in the midst of them. They
distrusted and despised Emmanuel—God with them, a visible glory over their host.

92. II. They ought to have accepted God’s guidance thither as the absolute assurance that
their way on lay clear before his eyes, and that all the difficulties which beset it were
under the firm control of His hand. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)
Effort needed as well as prayer
A scholar was remarkable for repeating her lessons well. Her schoolfellow, rather idly
inclined, said to her one day, “How is it that you always say your lessons so perfectly?”
She replied, “I always pray that I may say my lessons well.” “Do you?” said the other;
“well then, I will pray, too”: but alas! the next morning she could not even repeat word of
her usual task. Very much confounded, she ran to her friend, and reproached her as
deceitful: “I prayed,” said she, “but I could not say a single word of my lesson.”
“Perhaps,” rejoined the other, “you took no pains to learn it.” “Learn it! Learn it! I did
not learn it at all,” answered the first, “I thought I had no occasion to learn it, when I
prayed that I might say it.” The mistake is a very common one. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The flight from Egypt
I. Their danger. Foe behind, sea in front, mountains on each side.
II. Their dilemma. Knew not which way to turn.
III. Their deliverer. Man’s extremity God’s opportunity.
IV. Their duty. “Go forward.” This demanded faith.
V. Their determination. They obeyed.
VI. Their delight. Song of Moses. (G. Weller.)
Go forward
I. The story from which these words are taken is A story of national progress. It is also
one of supernatural progress. For us the supernatural is, in the highest and truest sense
of the word, natural, for it is the revelation of the nature of God. We accept the
possibility of the supernatural and miraculous, but all the more for that do we hold that
if God interferes in the affairs of men miraculously, He will not do it capriciously,
unnecessarily, wantonly. Upon the whole story of these Jewish miracles there is stamped
a character which marks distinctly the reason for which they were wrought; that reason
was the religious education of the world. By these miracles the Jew was taught that for
nations and men there is a God, an eternal and a personal will above us and around us,
that works for righteousness. This great fact was taught him by illustrated lessons, by
pictures illuminated with the Divine light and so filled with the Divine colour that they
stand and last for all time.
II. The lesson that seems definitely stamped on the story of the miraculous passage of
the Red Sea is the lesson of fearlessness in the discharge of duty, of resolute walking in
the way that we know to be God’s way for us. We find this true—
1. In the case of individuals.
2. In the case of nations.

93. For individuals and for nations God has appointed a law of progress. All we have ever
striven to raise the tone of a nation’s life, to bring the nation onward on the path that
leads to peace and righteousness, have been preaching to mankind this great word of
God’s, “Go forward where God would have you go.” (Bp. Magee.)
Christian progress
Progress is the great test of a Christian. It is not what we are absolutely, but what we are
relatively, relatively to what we were. Religion mast always be “a walk,” and the child of
God a traveller. Old things get further and further behind, and as they recede look
smaller and smaller; new things constantly come into view, and there is no stagnation.
The man, though slowly, and with much struggle, and with many humiliations, is
stretching on to the ever-rising level of his own spiritual and heaven-drawn conscience.
I. We may be discouraged because of past failures. Still we have no choice but to go on.
Life is made up of rash beginnings and premature endings. We have nothing for it but to
begin again.
II. We may feel ourselves utterly graceless and godless. The remedy is, at once to
determine to be a great Christian. We must aim at things far in advance. We must go
forward.
III. Perhaps some great temptation or sin bars the way. Then we must not stand
calculating. We must not look at consequences, but simply “go forward” to the new life of
self-denial and holiness. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Going forward
Both the Israelites and Egyptians went forward; but how? and to what?—
I. The Israelites went forward in obedience to Divine commands; the Egyptians, in
opposition to the Divine will.
1. As regards the Israelites—In this particular crisis He commanded them to proceed
(verse 15). The means and mode of their advance were prescribed by Him (verse 16).
2. The Egyptians went forward in defiance of the will of God.
II. The Israelites went forward having the presence of God with them as a help; the
Egyptians having that presence as a hindrance (verse 19, 20).
III. The Israelites went forward in wise reliance upon God; the Egyptians in infatuated
daring of him.
IV. The Israelites went forward having the forces of nature controlled in their favour;
the Egyptians with those forces used to their confusion and overthrow (verses 21-27).
Nature renders loyal obedience to its Lord. The Most High employs nature’s elements
and forces for the defence and deliverance of His people, and for the defeat and
destruction of His foes.
V. The Israelites went forward to splendid victory and spiritual profit; the Egyptians to
utter defeat and death.
1. As to the Israelites—

94. (1) Their triumph was complete and glorious (verses 29, 30).
(2) They also derived moral benefit from the event (verse 31). Reverential fear of
God was inspired within them, and their faith in Him and in His servant Moses
was quickened and confirmed.
2. But the Egyptians were utterly overthrown and slain (verse 28).
Lessons:
1. Going forward is not always making progress.
2. Going forward is true progress only when it accords with the will of God.
3. The path of duty is often beset with difficulties.
4. Difficulties in the path of duty disappear before believing obedience.
5. Rebellion against God leads to trouble and distress, and if persisted in must end in
irretrievable ruin.
6. Faith in God and obedience to Him lead onward and upward to glorious triumph.
7. The deliverances wrought for us by the hand of God should encourage us to
reverence and trust Him. (William Jones.)
Christian progress in the face of difficulties
I. In the Christian life advancement is demanded. Forward, upward, heavenward,
Godward.
II. In the Christian life advancement is demanded, with a full recognition of the
obstacles in the way of it. We pass from conquest to renew the conflict.
III. In the Christian life, obstacles to progress, manfully encountered, may be
surmounted. Difficulties vanish, in the presence of believing obedience.
IV. In the Christian life, obstacles to progress, manfully encountered, contribute to our
advancement.
V. In the Christian life we are incited to progress, notwithstanding obstacles, by a great
host of encouragements.
1. Believing prayer is mighty with God.
2. Glorious examples encourage us onward.
3. The character of our Leader encourages us onward. (William Jones.)
Forward
Into whatever province of Divine government we look, we find that “Forward” is one of
God’s great watchwords, onward to that state which is higher, more perfect. On
Christian believers is ]aid the obligation to “go on unto perfection,” to “press toward the
mark,” etc.
I. As the children of Israel, in obedience to the command of God, were on their way from
a lower to a higher and more blessed life, so are Christians.

95. II. As the children of Israel were required to go forward for the discipline of their faith,
so are Christian believers.
III. As the Israelites were required to go forward in the interests of the Kingdom of God
in the world, so are Christian disciples. (R. Ann.)
The Christian’s watchword
I. In what the Christian is to go forward. Now this is evident; he must go forward in the
path to eternal life. More particularly, he must go forward—
1. In the increase of Christian graces.
2. In the exhibition of Christian virtues. Such as justice, temperance, brotherly
kindness, and charity.
3. In the performance of Christian duties. In reading the holy oracles, and in holy
meditation, forward. In secret and public prayer, forward. In family worship and
discipline, forward. In the services of the sanctuary, forward. In enterprises of
usefulness and plans of benevolence, forward. In all the personal and relative
obligations of life, forward.
4. In the attainment of Christian privileges and blessings. “Peace flowing as a river,
and righteousness abounding as the waves of the sea.”
II. Why the Christian should go forward.
1. God commands it, and His authority is imperative.
2. Christ enforces it, and His claims are irresistible.
3. The Holy Spirit moves us to it, and His influences must not be quenched.
4. By the examples of saints with whom we are for ever to be associated.
5. By the sufficiency of the means provided for our progress and safety.
6. By the dreadful and calamitous effects produced by apostasy.
7. By the glorious rewards which God shall bestow upon His persevering people.
Application:
1. Let the subject be addressed to all classes and ages of Christian professors. To the
young believer, and the aged disciple, the motto is the same—forward. To the
illiterate, and the learned Christian. Forward, in prosperity and adversity; in sickness
and health; in life and until death.
2. The subject must be reversed to the sinner. He is in the wrong path; far enough
already from God and happiness and heaven. Turn from thy evil ways and live. (J.
Burns, D. D.)
Progress
I. The necessity for progress as a condition for healthy life. The advancing tide has no
sooner touched its highest point than it begins to recede. In the spiritual life, progress is
needful to secure past attainments, as well as to gain fresh victories.

96. II. The directions in which progress should be sought.
1. Go forward to clearer and higher conceptions of spiritual truth.
2. Go forward in further development of the Church’s social life.
3. Go forward in all works of Christian beneficence.
4. Go forward individually in the cultivation of the spiritual life. (J. Legge, M. A.)
Go forward-a New Year’s sermon for the young
We have been spared to see the beginning of another year, we may therefore think of
ourselves as having reached a certain halting-place in our journey.
I. We should believe in Christ, and also obey Him. Without believing in Christ, we have
no true love to God in our hearts; and without love, we cannot give Him the obedience of
children.
II. We are taught here also that we should both worship God and work for Him. I have
heard of a heathen king who was wounded in battle, and who, in his dying hours,
sending for his trusted servant, said to him, “Go, tell the dead I am come.” That soldier-
servant, without hesitating for a moment, drew his sword and stabbed himself to the
heart, that he might go to the dead before his master, and prepare them for his coming.
Oh! that we had this spirit of service and of sacrifice for the King of kings! In His dying
hour, He also said to us, “Go, tell the dead, I come.” He asks us to go to a world dead in
trespasses and sins, to tell them of His coming, and to preach to them glad tidings of
great joy. Alas! how many of us are content to worship Him, and say, “O King, rule for
ever!” without spending and being spent, that His kingdom may come.
III. This passage further teaches us, that, while we enjoy religious privileges, we should
seek to make yearly and daily progress by means of them. We should become liker to
Christ, and seek to learn more perfectly the language of heaven. Christ’s work for us is
complete. Christ’s work in us is only begun, and God loves to see His believing children
growing in likeness to that Elder Brother who is the very image of Himself. If you ask me
why you should thus go on towards perfection, I answer—
1. It is the will of God. We are to be perfect as our Father who is in heaven is perfect;
and we see, from all that goes on around us and within us, that this perfection is not
to be reached by a single effort, or in a single day.
2. But not only should we go forward in obedience to the will of God; we should also
feel that it is needful for our own sakes to obey our heavenly Father. For—
(1) If we refuse to go forward, it is ruin to our highest interests. On the lake of
Geneva, some years ago, I saw a gloomy castle where prisoners used to be
confined; and in it there was a dark dungeon, with a dreadful staircase, called the
oubliettes. I was told that sometimes the keeper went to a poor prisoner confined
in that dungeon-castle, and told him that now he was to obtain his life and
liberty, and requested him to follow him. The prisoner was delighted, and left his
cell, and went along very thankful and very glad, with hopes and visions of home
and happiness. He reached the staircase I have spoken of, and was told to go
down, step by step, in the darkness, that he might reach the castle gate, and so be
free. Alas! it was a broken stair! A few steps down into the darkness, and the next
step he took he found no footing, but fell down fifty or sixty feet, to be dashed to

97. pieces among rocks, and then to have his mangled body buried in the lake. So the
sinner thinks that the way of self-indulgence and self-pleasing he takes will give
him all he wishes, but it leads to death. And if we willingly and knowingly go back
to our sins, as the Israelites might have gone back with Pharaoh’s hosts, our last
condition will be worst than our first. But, as it is death to disobey, so—
(2) It is life to go forward in the way of obedience and persistent service. The
pleasures of sin, indeed, we cannot have. But the Christian’s is, after all, the
better part. “Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that
now is, and of that which is to come.” We have the light of Christian knowledge,
the blessings of religious faith, the hope of a happy immortality, and the
blessedness of holy love. Before I conclude, let me give you this one counsel: Do
not, as pilgrims of immortality, think lightly of little steps. These Israelites had to
go all their long journey to Canaan one step at a time, and so it is with you. And,
alas! you may go a far way from the path of duty, and the path of safety, though
you only take one step at a time. And, as bad persons become wicked step by
step, so it needs many little steps to go forward to the love and likeness of Christ.
It was told of a painter, that he had “no day without its line.” Every day he added
some touches to his picture. So let it be with ours. Thus we shall make it liker and
liker to Christ, the perfect image of the invisible God. (W. H. Grey, D. D.)
The memorial charge to the Israelites
I. Let us consider this command in reference to the journey of the Israelites. It became
them, and it becomes us, to obey whenever God commands; and to do whatever He
enjoins us, and that for four reasons.
1. Because He has a right to command. He is the Sovereign, we are the subjects. He is
the Master, we are the servants.
2. Because none of His commands are arbitrary. We may not be able to perceive the
reasons upon which they are founded; but there are reasons.
3. Because all His commands are beneficial. They all regard our welfare, as well as
His own glory.
4. Because they are all practicable. They all imply a power to obey. If not possessed,
yet attainable—if not in nature, yet in grace. Now, men may enjoin what is really
impossible; but God never does.
II. The advancement of Christians in the Divine life. For Christians are now on their way
from Egypt to Canaan. An old writer says, “A Christian should never pitch his tent twice
in the same place,” but with every fresh rising sun there should be some fresh
advancement.
1. In order to see the possibility, the propriety, the importance, of thus advancing in
the Divine life, turn to the commands of the Scriptures, “Grow in grace, and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” “Add to your faith virtue,” etc.
2. Then turn to the advantages of progression in your Christian course; for, as you
advance, you will improve, and will rise higher in Divine attainments. As you
advance, you are “changing from glory to glory.” Every step you take adds to your
dignity; every step adds to your usefulness, and enables you more to adorn the
“doctrine of God your Saviour in all things,” and to recommend His service to those

98. around you. Every step you take adds to your comfort; it adds to the evidences of
your state, and to your character; and so far exemplifies the words of the Saviour,
“Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be My disciples”;
appear as such, and exemplify yourselves as such.
III. Let us consider this command in reference to the progress of time. Time is always
advancing; the hour-glass, the day, the week, the year—all go forward. And do they leave
you behind? No; you advance with as much speed as the vessel which bears you along.
You are not, therefore, to consider us here as exhorting you to go forward with time, but
how to go forward, and in what way you ought to advance.
1. “Go forward” with humbleness of mind, not strutting into the new year, as if you
had been acting wisely, worthily and meritoriously, throughout the year that is past;
but “clothed with humility,” and “walking humbly with your God.”
2. “Go forward with gratitude in the remembrance of His mercies.” Have they not
been “new every morning”?
3. “Go forward” under a sense of present aid, in opposition to complainings and
murmurings.
4. “Go forward” also with a firm confidence as to what may befall you in the future.
5. “Go forward” with earnest and constant prayer.
6. “Go forward” with frequent thoughts of your journey’s end: for it will have an end,
and you are brought one year nearer to it. (W. Jay.)
The pilgrimage of the saints
I. The character and course of the people of God.
I. These circumstances of Israel, illustrating the spiritual character and course of those
who form the new-covenant Church, may apply to them as they are redeemed and called
out of the world.
2. The circumstances of Israel apply to those who form the spiritual Church of God,
as their redemption and calling out of the world are connected with a career of
pilgrimage to a state of future happiness.
II. The impediments existing to the continuance of their progress.
1. An impediment is found, in the actual presence of adversaries, and the view of the
danger which thence appears to exist.
2. An impediment is found also, in the fears excited by the prospect of future perils
and opposition.
3. An impediment is found also, in the guilty remembrances of past ease and
enjoyments.
III. The command under which they are placed, and which is connected with powerful
excitements to obedience. “Forward,” is a word comprehending what must be the
exclusive spirit of the Christian calling. Perils, foes, and fears, are not to be regarded;
above them all, the mandate sounds its imperious note—“Go forward.”
1. Let us reflect on the danger of return.

99. 2. Let us reflect on the sufficiency of the Divine protection.
3. Let us reflect on the value of the possessions, by the enjoyment of which our
progress is to be closed. (J. Parsons.)
Encouragement in difficulties
I. The situation of the Israelites. It is no uncommon thing for many past mercies to be
lost in one present perplexity.
II. The conduct of Moses. We see here—
1. Piety.
2. Meekness.
3. Faith.
III. The interposition of Jehovah. It was most seasonable and beneficial. Conclusion: It
is plain that such an admonition as this in the text, must not be indiscriminately urged.
It belongs to Christians. To as many as are of this character, we affectionately say, Go
forward. More particularly.
1. You are engaged in a high spiritual pursuit. Your object now is, the acquisition of
scriptural knowledge; not the knowledge of froth and folly; the cherishing and
improving of religious impressions; not to stifle and strive against them. Your object
is to vanquish sin in all its various forms, to make progress in the way of holiness;
not to sit down at the entrance of the way. Your object is to increase in spiritual
consolation. Much of this is yet to be enjoyed.
2. In this pursuit you must expect difficulties. And be not surprised if you meet with
them at the very entrance of your religious course.
3. Notwithstanding difficulties, you must “go forward.” Backward you cannot go, but
at the hazard of life, at the cost of utter destruction. “ If any man draw back, My
soul,” saith the Lord, “shall have no pleasure in him”; and to lie under the
displeasure of the Almighty is to be wretched and undone for ever.
4. In your progress there is much to encourage you. What is there?
(1) The command of God is evident.
(2) The example of others is encouraging.
(3) The guidance which God gives is greatly encouraging.
(4) The refreshments of the way must encourage you.
The gospel is food, affording the best support; the promises are a cordial, administering
the richest consolation. Divine ordinances are wisely adapted to the same end. The
Lord’s Supper is a feast, a feast for refreshment. And what shall we say of heaven at the
end of your course? The Israelites had the prospect of Canaan, and it encouraged them:
the hope of the promised land helped them through many trials. But yours is a much
better hope, a much more animating prospect! (T. Kidd.)
On going forward

100. The Hebrew life was a camp-life, and as such is the picture of ours. For a while we rest
beneath the shadow of Elim’s palm-trees, or lie down beside the green pastures; but ere
long the bugle-note of our great Leader’s voice is heard, calling us to the onward march.
I. The call to go forward shows that there are seasons for swift obedience, as well as
earnest prayer. “Wherefore criest thou unto Me?” says God. Strange language from the
lips of Him who has taught us to be instant in prayer. Even prayer must not be a medium
for distrust to unveil itself. Prayer must bespeak faith, not doubt. We want brave hearts,
as well as suppliant knees. We must fight against distrust. Doubt is defeat.
II. The call to go forward was accompanied by example. Men crave leaders—in the State,
in the senate, in the field, and in the Church. Fix your eye on the unfaltering Moses.
“Forward!” says a voice from the better land.
III. The call to go forward teaches us that God hides difficulties till they come. They had
no forewarning of this event. But God keeps the veil down before each life’s future hour.
We never know what shall be on the morrow: save that grace will be there if we live, and
glory if we die. To-morrow, the fairest lamb in the fold may wander, the most loved
friend be gone; the thorn may spring from the pillow, and the garden contain a grave.
IV. The call to go forward tells us that we are not to live in the past. Neither in its
successes nor in its sorrows. “Let the dead past bury its dead.” Piety should be no fossil
relic of past experience. Yesterday’s religion will not save us!
V. The call to go forward answers to the spiritual instincts of the soul. Forward! Not to
the grave, but through the grave. The Christian revelation gives us the principles of
progress, and opens up the sphere for their exercise, by its unveiling of the immortal
state.
VI. The call to go forward tells us that we have supernatural assistance to go forward.
When in our earthly life, God calls us to human progress, what aids He gives us in
fellowship, friendship, and love! And when in a spiritual sense God says, Go forward, He
does not leave us to ourselves. Go back to your first Communion—to brotherly sympathy
and prayer—to tender help from hearts that now rest. What a way it has been! (W. M.
Statham, M. A.)
Excelsior
1. Going forward supposes difficulty. You will find sometimes the path to be steep
and uneven, rugged and rough. None but the brave go forward. The way, though
right, is not always smooth and pleasant, charmed with music and song and
perfumed with the fragrance of flowers, but much of a contrary kind. This is true of
every enterprise in which men are engaged where either fame or opulence are
sought. Thus, a man will be a successful painter, sculptor, mechanic, or merchant.
Napoleon said of Massena that he was not himself till the battle began to go against
him; then, when the dead began to fall in ranks around him, awoke his powers of
combination, and he put on terrors and victory as a robe. So it is in rugged crises, in
unweariable endurance, and in aims which put human sympathy out of question that
the angel is shown. Nothing is gained that is worth the having without difficulty.
Things easily got readily go.
2. To go forward implies decision and energy. Indecision is relaxing to the moral
nature, it weakens, and has often proved fatal to the deepest interests in some of
life’s most solemn crises. To swing this way and that, like the pendulum of the clock

101. in the plane of its oscillation, without making any advance forward, is most pitiable
in a man. A French orator says, “Indecision of movement shows lack, both in mind
and heart; to wish and not to wish, is most wretched; he who hesitates, totters, falls
back, and is lost.” Then, what is needed to secure true advancement is energy,
decision of character, force, concentration, the power to will and to execute. And this
implies having an aim, a definite object before us, and fixing the mind on that,
moving steadily, unfalteringly towards its attainment; to know where we are going,
looking to the grand final results, and measuring our steps accordingly.
3. To go forward implies patient endurance. The march sometimes will be slow and
weary—you will not always be able to go with “alacrity and delight,” nor shall you
find it “all glory going to glory.” Times will be when the apostle’s saying will have a
deep significance—“Ye have need of patience”; and when obedience to the
injunction—“In patience possess your souls,” will be the highest point of heroism.
Times when the way is dark and slippery, and adverse forces combine to stop your
progress, and when, if you can move at all, it will be but a step at a time.
4. This going forward implies an object. Something before and above us as yet, and
that may be attained to and won by diligent toil, application, study, and earnest
pressing after. This, then, is the grand end of all going forward—the attainment of
glory. It is not now, nor here, but beyond and above. (J. Higgins.)
Forward
I. First, we will contemplate the children of Israel as a flock of fugitives; and in this light
they give encouragement to trembling sinners, flying from the curse of the law and from
the power of their sins. You are trying to escape from your sins; you are not, as you used
to be, a contented bondsman. You have been flying as best you could from sin; but the
whole of your sins are after you, and your conscience with its quick ear can hear the
sound of threatening judgment. “Alas!” your heart is saying, “unless God help me, I shall
be in hell.” “Alas!” says your judgment, “unless God be merciful, I shall soon perish.”
Every power of your manhood is now upon the alarm. Now, what shall I do for you?
Shall I pray for you? Ay, that I will. But, methinks, while I am praying for you, I hear my
Master saying, “Wherefore criest thou unto Me?” Tell them to go forward; preach Christ
to them, instead of praying any longer, or bidding them pray. Deliver to them the
message of the gospel—“Forward, sinner, forward to the Cross!”
II. Secondly, we may view the great company who came out of Egypt as an army under
command; therefore, they must obey. The command given to them is, “Forward!” “Sir, I
have begun to be a Christian, but, if I continue in it, I shall lose my business. My calling
is such that I cannot be honest in it, and serve my God faithfully. What ought I to do?
Ought I not to give up my religion?” Forward I no matter what is before you. Forward!
you are not fit to be a soldier of Christ unless you can count all costs, and still hold fast to
the Cross of Christ. “Ah!” says one, “but what is to become of my children, my
household?” Friend, I cannot tell thee, but God can. It is thine to trust them with Him,
for the only command I have for you is, Forward! forward! “But my husband says, I shall
never come into the house again; my father tells me he will turn me out of doors.” Be it
so, no one pities you more than I do; but I dare not alter my message to your soul. “Go
forward!” “Well,” says one, “these are hard commands.” Yes, but the martyrs had harder
still.
III. Let us view these people as on the march towards Canaan. Many of you are on your

102. way towards heaven, and the Lord’s command to you is “Forward! forward!” There are
some persons who cannot be persuaded to make an advance in the Divine life. We ought
to go forward in—
1. Knowledge;
2. Faith;
3. Fellowship with Christ;
4. Work for our Master.
IV. To Christians in trouble our text is applicable. The children of Israel were in a trial
into which God had brought them; and it is an absolute certainty, that if God brings you
in, He will bring you out. He never did take a saint where he must of necessity perish.
What is to be done now? God’s word is—“Forward!” God shall fight for you, and you
shall hold your peace.
V. The Israelites were upon a divine mission. They were going up to slay the Canaanites.
Preaching is the great weapon of God for pulling down strongholds; it will pull down the
hugest blocks of stone the enemy can pile together, I would I could make every member
of this Church feel in earnest about doing good.
VI. Soon you and I will stand on the brink of Jordan’s river; the deep sea of death will
roll before us; trusting in Jesus, we shall not fear the last solemn hour. We shall hear the
angel say, “Forward!” we shall touch the chilly stream with our feet, the flood shall fly,
and we shall go through the stream dry-shod. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Don’t halt; “go forward”
It is the first step that costs. When the Israelites came up to the Red Sea, the command
of God was: “Speak to the Children of Israel that they go forward,” The command is
peremptory. It admits of no delay. “Go forward.” Death is behind you. Hell followeth
hard after you. There is no salvation in retreat, Heaven lies before you, not behind. No
man ever saved his soul by relapsing into indifference.
1. Perhaps you say, “I have prayed many a time already, and no blessing has yet
come.” Will you cease to pray then? Will that bring an answer? How many a soul has
quit praying when the door of mercy was just about opening! Go forward.
2. Another one is kept back by fear of ridicule. He cannot stand a laugh. There is a
sneer waiting for him at his father’s table, or a cutting sarcasm in his countingroom.
He wavers before it. Go forward; the sea will open to you, and so will many a heart to
cheer you on. You will inspire respect in the very quarters from which you now
expect opposition.
3. A third person complains: “I am in the dark; I cannot see my way.” Then go
forward, and get out of the dark. The determination to do your duty will be attended
by a luminous discernment of the path of duty.
4. Unbelief draws back a fourth. There is only one way to conquer doubt. It is, to
believe. End the torturing uncertainty by going forward, “looking unto Jesus.” The
only way to do a thing is to do it. God gives strength to the obedient. He has no
promises for cowards, or double-minded vacillating doubters. (T. L. Cuyler, D. D.)

103. Safety in progress
Flying birds are never taken in a fowler’s snare. (Archbp. Seeker.)
Go forward
And why were they to go forward? Not because there was less danger in the one path
than in the other; there was much in both, and apparently more in the advancing than in
the retreating path; but because to go forward was the path of duty and the command of
God. Certainly advance is the great law of the Christian life, as well as of the universe. All
things in nature and history go forward. The stream moves forward, not a wave of it
turns back; its every eddy, even, is, in reality, advancing. The winds move forward,
pausing, indeed, often on their journey, lingering amidst the locks of the pine, or in the
cleft of the rock, but speedily resuming their onward sweep again. The stars—the earth
included—move forward, “hasting not, resting not,” seeking, it is said, some distant
centre. Science, art, philosophy, literature, every species of knowledge, move forward;
invention following invention, discovery, discovery; one man of genius eclipsing another,
to be in his turn outshone. Time moves forward, oh, how rapidly! and how his vast wings
seem to say, as they rush along, “I have an engagement at the judgment seat; I have an
appointment in eternity, and I must fulfil it. My King’s business requireth haste.” Christ
Himself never rested. He was never in a hurry, but He was always in haste. The
difference between Him and many of His people is, His life was short, and He knew it,
and did the most in it; theirs, too, is short, but they know it not, and do not with their
might what their hand findeth to do. God Himself even, with all the leisure of eternity, is
not losing an hour, but is carrying on His broad plans, with undeviating regularity and
increasing swiftness, and surely men should aspire in this respect to be imitators of, and
fellow-workers with, God. Christ’s religion, too, has been active and progressive;
sometimes frozen up for a time like a river, but, like a river, working under the ice, and
when spring arrived making up for the time lost by the increased rapidity of its course.
And so with the path of the individual; like the river, the winds, the stars, the Eternal
Himself, it must advance. Our motto should be “Excelsior.” The progress of the
Christian, indeed, is often from one difficulty to another; and very idle for him, in this
earth, to expect an unvaried course of even moderate peace and happiness. No, no! he
only exchanges one difficulty for another. True, there is a difference between the
character of the difficulties. In becoming a Christian, a man quits the path of destruction
for the Hill Difficulty, midnight for morning twilight, the wrath of a judge for the
discipline of a father, the brink of hell for the thorny road to heaven; Pharaoh, the devil’s
agent, for the Red Sea, which is God’s ocean, and through which He cain provide a
passage. We are urged forward alike by the command of God, the expectation of rest,
and the hope of heaven, Ay! and even there the word of command is to be “Forward!” No
more Red Seas, indeed, no wilderness, no battles to be fought, no enemies to be
overcome; but still it is an onward course which shall be pursued for ever by the people
of God. Heaven would cease to be heaven were this progress to stop. For what is heaven
but the fire of the Infinite Mind for ever unfolding itself to the view and reception of
God’s creatures? We hear of people on earth whose “education is finished.” Ah,
Christian, thy education shall never be finished! There is only one Being whose
education was ever finished, or, rather, whose education never began—God. All others,
having entered on their future abode, are to go onwards, pressing toward the mark,
punting, running, hoping, believing, loving more and more, throughout the ages of

104. eternity. All difficulties, we should remember, will yield to faith, prayer, and
perseverance. (G. Gilfillan.)
Forward, the true direction
Livingstone, having broken fresh ground among the Bakh-atlas, wrote to the Directors of
the London Missionary Society, explaining what he had done, and expressing the hope
that it would meet with their approval. At the same time he said he was at their disposal
“to go anywhere—provided it be forward.” Pushing through obstacles:—What won’t,
must be made to. On these wintry days, when I cross the ferry to New York, I sometimes
see large thick cakes of ice lying across the path of the boat. They will not take
themselves out of the way; so the pilot drives the copper-cased bow of his boat squarely
against the ice-floes, cleaving them asunder. If they will not get out of the way, they must
be made to, and the propelling power within is more than a match for the obstacles
without. That is a fine passage in the “Pilgrim’s Progress” where Christian approaches
the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and hears the howlings of the dragons, and sees the
“discouraging clouds of confusion” hanging heavy and black over the horrible place. He
does not flinch an instant. Crying out “I perceive not but that this is my way to the
desired haven,” he pushes his way through the frightful fiends and past the mouth of the
burning pit. The road to heaven is full of obstacles. They lie right across every sinner’s
path, and like the ice-floes around the boat, they will not remove themselves. An
energetic young man who starts life with a pile of hindrances at his bow, understands
that the battle of life is to smash through them. David Livingstone, when a factory boy,
and fastening his school books on his loom to study Latin, was practising this process.
You have to contend with a depraved heart. It is just in the condition of a clock whose
inner works are a heap of disordered wheels and springs. They can be repaired, and the
clock will go. Your soul is dislocated and disordered by sin. The Divine hand that made it
can mend it. Sinful habits, long indulged, are obstacles in your way. They are tendencies
of the mind strengthened by frequent repetition. If you have not any such horrible habits
as swearing, or cheating, or hard drinking, you have formed the habit of refusing all
Christ’s rich offers of salvation. This has been a hardening process—as the cart-wheels
made a hard beaten road across certain fields of my grandfather’s farm. Persistent push
is indispensable to your salvation. To enter into the strait gate requires striving. To
overcome obstacles requires might in the inner man, and that comes from the Holy
Spirit. Dr. Spencer tells us of a man who once came bursting into his inquiry-meeting in
almost breathless excitement. The poor man had been walking back and forth between
his own door and the meeting, until at last he said, “I am determined to go into that
inquiry-room or die in the attempt.” In that fierce fight with a wicked heart, he not only
had to call on God’s help, but he said afterwards—“If you expect God to help you, you
must be perfectly decided.” (T. L. Cuyler, D. D.)
16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over
the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites

105. can go through the sea on dry ground.
CLARKE, "Lift thou up thy rod - Neither Moses nor his rod could be any effective
instrument in a work which could be accomplished only by the omnipotence of God; but
it was necessary that he should appear in it, in order that he might have credit in the
sight of the Israelites, and that they might see that God had chosen him to be the
instrument of their deliverance.
GILL, "But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and
divide it,.... Even the same rod with which so many wonders had been done in Egypt;
and Artapanus, the Heathen, says (x), that Moses being bid by a divine voice to smite the
sea with his rod, he hearkened to it, and touched the water with it, and so it divided, as it
is said it did, Exo_14:21.
and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the
sea; and so they did, Exo_14:22.
HE RY 16-18, "What he might expect God to do. Let the children of Israel go as far
as they can upon dry ground, and then God will divide the sea, and open a passage for
them through it, Exo_14:16-18. God designs, not only to deliver the Israelites, but to
destroy the Egyptians; and the plan of his counsels is accordingly. (1.) He will show
favour to Israel; the waters shall be divided for them to pass through, Exo_14:16. The
same power could have congealed the waters for them to pass over; but Infinite Wisdom
chose rather to divide the waters for them to pass through; for that way of salvation is
always pitched upon which is most humbling. Thus it is said, with reference to this (Isa_
63:13, Isa_63:14), He led them through the deep, as a beast goes down into the valley,
and thus made himself a glorious name. (2.) He will get him honour upon Pharaoh. If
the due rent of honour be not paid to the great landlord, by and from whom we have and
hold our beings and comforts, he will distrain for it, and recover it. God will be a loser by
no man. In order to this, it is threatened: I, behold I, will harden Pharaoh's heart, Exo_
14:17. The manner of expression is observable: I, behold I, will do it. “I, that may do it;”
so it is the language of his sovereignty. We may not contribute to the hardening of any
man's heart, nor withhold any thing that we can do towards the softening of it; but God's
grace is his own, he hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will be
hardeneth. “I, that can do it;” so it is the language of his power; none but the Almighty
can make the heart soft (Job_23:16), nor can any other being make it hard. “I, that will
do it;” for it is the language of his justice; it is a righteous thing with God to put those
under the impressions of his wrath who have long resisted the influences of his grace. It
is spoken in a way of triumph over this obstinate and presumptuous rebel: “I even I, will
take an effectual course to humble him; he shall break that would not bend.” It is an
expression like that (Isa_1:24), Ah, I will ease me of my adversaries.

106. COKE, "Exodus 14:16. Lift thou up thy rod—over the sea, and divide it— See
Exodus 14:21. It is very common in Scripture to attribute those actions to a person,
which are only done by his agency at the command and by the power of another. So
here, it was by the immediate power of God that the sea was divided: Moses was so
far honoured, as to give the command for that miraculous interposition.
EXPOSITOR'S DICTIO ARY, "Exodus 14:16
When Moses held the rod over the Red Sea, he was the sign of man holding up the
serpent in triumph to the view of the creation, and in right of his victory exercising
dominion, long lost but now recovered. That is still a prophecy.... The power by
which this is now carrying forward is the spirit of Christ in man"s heart. This is the
true preparation for the cleansing of the leprosy and the binding of Satan; and the
signs are prophetic pictures to animate hope.
—Thomas Erskine.
Perhaps it is not improbable that the grand moral improvements of a future age
may be accomplished in a manner that shall leave nothing to man but humility and
grateful adoration. His pride so obstinately ascribes to himself whatever good is
effected on the globe, that perhaps the Deity will evince his own interposition by
events as evidently independent of the right of man as the rising of the sun. It may
be that some of them may take place in a manner but little connected even with
human operation. Or if the activity of men shall be employed as the means of
producing all of them, there will probably be as palpable a disproportion between
the instrument and the events, as there was between the rod of Moses and the
amazing phenomena which followed when it was stretched forth. o Israelite was
foolish enough to ascribe to the rod the power that divided the sea; nor will the
witnesses of the moral wonders to come attribute them to man.
—John Foster, on the Application of the Epithet Romantic, v.
BI, "Through the midst of the sea.
The Red Sea
I. God’s deliverance of Israel.
II. Judgment on God’s enemies, as well as a deliverance of His friends.
III. God’s separation of Israel for his service.
IV. The unity of God’s redeemed ones. (E. N. Packard.)
The Red Sea
I. Protection at the Red Sea.

107. 1. The nature of the protection.
2. The all-sufficiency of the protection.
II. Deliverance through the Red Sea.
1. Its means, A blending of the human and the Divine.
2. Its method.
(1) Obedience a condition of deliverance.
(2) Nothing can harm the obedient soul (Exo_14:29).
III. The enemy destroyed in the Red Sea.
1. The superinducing cause. The daring persistency of Pharaoh brought him and his
hosts into danger. So even with sinners. “Thou hast destroyed thyself.”
2. God left Pharaoh and his hosts to themselves in the peril.
3. God caused the waters to return to their normal state.
(1) If we stand in the way of danger, we have no one to blame but ourselves for
the consequences.
(2) Every sinner places himself in the way of peril.
Lessons:
1. Pharaoh undertook what no one has ever succeeded in—to fight against God.
2. Moses placed himself and Israel in a relation to God, in which no one has ever
failed. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)
The passage of the Red Sea
1. Israel leaves Egypt for the purpose of proceeding to Canaan, the promised land. A
figure of an awakened soul, drawn to God, which takes the firm and noble resolution
to renounce all sin, and serve God, seeking first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness.
2. The fiery and cloudy pillar is the secret but powerful attraction of the Father to the
Son, which the soul follows, and by which it is faithfully and correctly guided. Here
the individual is brought to the salutary means of grace, or they to him, in such a
manner that he is afterwards obliged to confess, that if a single, and often
inconsiderable, circumstance of his life had been otherwise, his whole course would
have assumed another form.
3. The pursuing Pharaoh is a figure of the law in its strict and insatiate requirements,
as well as of Satan and the powers” of darkness. The latter soon perceives when any
one is desirous of escaping from him, and consequently opposes him in every way.
Some he torments with blasphemous, others with unbelieving thoughts, etc.
4. The utterly helpless condition of the children of Israel represents the oppressive
weakness felt by the awakened soul.
5. But the Red Sea, which threatened destruction to the Israelites, proved of the
greatest benefit to them. And this very feeling of sin, misery, and inability, which
causes an awakened person so much uneasiness, turns to his greatest advantage. For

108. it serves, like the blindness of the man born blind, and the death of Lazarus, to
promote the Divine glory that Christ may be honoured by it.
6. The way by which Israel was delivered was one which was most miraculously
opened; a way apparently dangerous and terrific, and hidden from the Egyptians.
This may be also said of the way by which the Lord leads His people to life. For how
wonderful is the way of salvation through the birth, sufferings, death, and
resurrection of Christ!
7. A strong east wind arose, and dried the sea; and a rushing, like the sound of a
mighty wind, was the signal to the holy apostles of the approach of the Holy Spirit.
When He blows upon man, “all flesh is as grass, and all the goodliness thereof as the
flower of the field.” He it is that quickens.
8. The cloud, which overshadowed the people of Israel, protecting them from the
pursuing foe, descending upon them as a refreshing dew, and serving by its radiance
instead of a lamp, may be regarded as an emblem of the Redeemer’s blissful
mediation between God and man. From it drops a refreshing dew upon the troubled
heart, and a healing balm for the wounded conscience, yea, a peace of God which
passeth understanding.
9. Lastly, the divided sea is a type of baptism, and consequently of all that which is
requisite to purify the soul from sin. The Red Sea of the Redeemer’s blood is the
abyss into which the sins of believers are so deeply plunged, that, if sought for, they
can never be found; the sea which swallows up, overwhelms, and drowns Satan, with
all his host, and the old man, and quickens in us a new man, who after God is created
in righteousness and true holiness. This precious blood of Christ, who offered
Himself to God by the Holy Spirit, is that which alone perfectly cleanses our
consciences from dead works, to serve the living God. (G. D. Krummacher.)
The Red Sea
Regarding this passage of the Red Sea as typical of some events in the pilgrim-life of
every Christian, let us say—
I. We are not delivered at the beginning of the life of faith from all the old enemies of the
house of bondage.
II. The hour when old enemies return may reveal the fact that no accumulation of
confidence in god has been gained by the experience of past deliverances. To most men
the great events of life seem to be disconnected. They bear no relation one to another. If
Fremont’s Peak and Pike’s Peak and the Spanish Peaks stood apart, connected by no
mountain-ridge, no great results would come from them upon soil or climate. They
would not determine the rain-fall or fix the trend of the rivers. But, linked together by
lofty mountain-chains, they become part of the vast water-shed of a continent, fixed the
length and course of the rivers and causing the humid atmosphere and fertile soil on one
side, the dry air and arid wastes upon the other. So the great facts of Divine Providence,
isolated and separate one from another, have no determinative influence over life. But
linked together they make its moral atmosphere.
III. Some old enemies of the soul may be utterly destroyed. Evil companionships
abandoned, etc.
IV. The providential way of deliverance is often mysterious.

109. V. Deliverance came to Israel not by human achievement, but by the power of God. The
most solemn hours of life are not times of great endeavour and of high achievement.
They are times when we are called to” Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.”
Such an hour is that when we begin the life of faith, not a time of achievement when, by
mental struggle and spiritual travail, we win the favour of God. It is rather the time of
self-surrender, when unreservedly we commit our ways to the Lord, that He may work
for us, and in us, His redeeming work. (W. G. Sperry.)
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.
GILL, "And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians,.... That they
shall have no sense of danger, and be fearless of it, incautious and thoughtless, hurried
on with wrath and fury, malice and revenge:
and they shall follow them; the Israelites into the sea, supposing it to be as safe for
the one as the other:
and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his
chariots, and upon his horsemen: by the utter destruction of them, in just
retaliation for the many innocent infants that had been drowned by them in the river
Nile.
CALVI , "17.I will harden. God once more affirms, for the greater exaltation of
His own power, that He will harden the Egyptians, so that, as if devoted to
destruction, they may cast themselves into the midst of the sea; which they certainly
would never have done, unless He had guided their hearts by his secret influence;
because it could not have escaped them that a passage for the Israelites was opened
by His special gift, from whence they might gather that the elements were at war
with them. Therefore they would never have dared to enter the sea, which they saw
to be armed against them, unless they had been blinded by God. Whence it appears
how unworthy is the imagination of those who pretend that there was but a bare

110. permission here, where God would make His power conspicuous. It would have
been enough that after the Israelites had passed over to the opposite shore the sea
should have returned to its place and prevented the Egyptians from following; but
God was willing, by a double miracle, to consult for the security of His people for a
long’ time to come. And this, indeed, came to pass; for the flower of the whole
nation being destroyed, the Egyptians were unable to recruit their army; especially
when the heir to the throne had already been slain, and the king himself was now
taken away. On this account it is said, that the Egyptians should know that the God
of Israel was the Lord; because in this last act they found that the power of rebellion
was altogether taken from them.
COKE, "Exodus 14:17. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians— That is, I will
suffer the hearts of the Egyptians to be hardened by their own violent and
infatuating passions. See the note on ch. Exodus 9:34. I will get me honour] The
original word signifies, to be glorified. Exodus 14:19. The Angel of God, which
went] The Divine Messenger and Leader of the Israelites, who, as we have
heretofore shewn, was Christ, caused the miraculous pillar to intervene between
them and the Egyptians, in such a manner, that it gave perfect light in the night (in
that night, about the beginning of which the dreadful order was given to Moses,
Exodus 14:16.) to the Israelites, while it was complete darkness to the Egyptians,
and entirely secluded the host of Israel from their sight, Exodus 14:20. Houbigant
remarks, that it is plain, from this place, that the cloud was dark on one side, and
lucid on the other.
REFLECTIO S.—Moses speaks the language of confidence to the people, and lifts
up his heart in prayer to God. Prayer and faith are mutual helpers: faith quickens
prayer, and prayer strengthens faith, Observe,
1. God's direction to Moses: Go forward. Whither, into the sea? o, to the sea, and
trust for the rest. ote; However dangerous and dark the way of duty; when we go
forward, God will take care of the event. The sea shall be divided; and that which
affords a passage to Israel, shall be the grave of the Egyptians. Thus God will get
honour from both; in his mercies on the one, in his judgments on the other. ote;
The damnation of the sinner shall as surely redound to the glory of God, as the
salvation of his saints.
2. The guard he sets to preserve his people from the Egyptians. The cloud removes
between them; a light to guide the one through the sea, and a barrier to prevent the
other from approaching to hurt them. This pillar of the cloud still stands in the same
aspect. To the impenitent sinner, every prospect is covered with darkness: to the
child of God, light surrounds his path: and as their present ways are directed, so
will be their end. The darkness of sin will lead down to the darkness of eternal
death: the light of Grace will conduct us to eternal light and life in glory.

111. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord
when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots
and his horsemen.”
CLARKE, "Shall know that I am the Lord - Pharaoh had just recovered from the
consternation and confusion with which the late plagues had overwhelmed him, and
now he is emboldened to pursue after Israel; and God is determined to make his
overthrow so signal by such an exertion of omnipotence, that he shall get himself honor
by this miraculous act, and that the Egyptians shall know, i.e., acknowledge, that he is
Jehovah, the omnipotent, self-existing, eternal God.
GILL, "And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord,.... Acknowledge him
to be Jehovah, the self-existent, eternal, and immutable Being, the one only living and
true God, who is wise and powerful, faithful, just, and true; that is, those Egyptians that
were left behind in Egypt, hearing what was done at the Red sea; for as for those that
came with Pharaoh, they all perished to a man:
when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon
his horsemen; by casting them into the sea, and drowning them there, thereby
showing himself to be mightier than he.
TRAPP, "Exodus 14:18 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.
Ver. 18. When I have gotten me honour.] Made me "a name as at this day."
[ ehemiah 9:10] For this he was famous in far countries. Jethro, the first proselyte
to the Jewish Church, was hereby converted, say the Rabbins. And the Philistines
cry, "Woe unto us! these are the gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues
in the wilderness." [1 Samuel 4:8]
19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling
in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went

112. behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from
in front and stood behind them,
BAR ES, "The angel of God - Compare the margin reference, and see Exo_3:2.
CLARKE, "The angel of God - It has been thought by some that the angel, i.e.,
messenger, of the Lord, and the pillar of cloud, mean here the same thing. An angel
might assume the appearance of a cloud; and even a material cloud thus particularly
appointed might be called an angel or messenger of the Lord, for such is the literal
import of the word ‫מלאך‬ malach, an angel. It is however most probable that the Angel of
the covenant, the Lord Jesus, appeared on this occasion in behalf of the people; for as
this deliverance was to be an illustrious type of the deliverance of man from the power
and guilt of sin by his incarnation and death, it might have been deemed necessary, in
the judgment of Divine wisdom, that he should appear chief agent in this most
important and momentous crisis. On the word angel, and Angel of the covenant, See
Clarke’s note on Gen_16:7; See Clarke’s note on Gen_18:13; and See Clarke’s note on
Exo_3:2.
GILL, "And the Angel of God which went before the camp of Israel,.... The
Jews say (y) this was Michael, the great prince, who became a wall of fire between Israel
and the Egyptians; and if they understood by him the uncreated angel, the eternal Word,
the Son of God, who is always in Scripture meant by Michael, they are right: for certainly
this Angel of the Lord is the same with Jehovah, who is said to go before them in a pillar
of cloud and fire, Exo_13:21,
removed, and went behind them; but because removing from place to place, and
going forwards or backwards, cannot be properly said of a divine Person, who is
omnipresent, and fills every place and space; this is to be understood of the emblem of
him, the pillar of cloud, as the next clause explains it:
and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind
them; the Targum of Jonathan adds,"because of the Egyptians, who cast arrows and
stones, and the cloud received them;''and so Jarchi; whereby the Israelites were
protected and preserved from receiving any hurt by them: so Christ is the protection of
his people from all their enemies, sin, Satan, and the world, that sin cannot damn them,
nor Satan destroy them, nor the world overcome them; for his salvation is as walls and
bulwarks to them, and he is indeed a wall of fire about them.
HE RY 19-20, " A guard set upon Israel's camp where it now lay most exposed,
which was in the rear, Exo_14:19, Exo_14:20. The angel of God, whose ministry was
made use of in the pillar of cloud and fire, went from before the camp of Israel, where

113. they did not now need a guide (there was no danger of missing their way through the
sea, nor needed they any other word of command than to go forward), and it came
behind them, where now they needed a guard (the Egyptians being just ready to seize the
hindmost of them), and so was a wall of partition between them. There it was of use to
the Israelites, not only to protect them, but to light them through the sea, and, at the
same time, it confounded the Egyptians, so that they lost sight of their prey just when
they were ready to lay hands on it. The word and providence of God have a black and
dark side towards sin and sinners, but a bright and pleasant side towards those that are
Israelites indeed. That which is a savour of life unto life to some is a savour of death unto
death to others. This was not the first time that he who in the beginning divided between
light and darkness (Gen_1:4), and still forms both (Isa_45:7), had, at the same time,
allotted darkness to the Egyptians and light to the Israelites, a specimen of the endless
distinction which will be made between the inheritance of the saints in light and that
utter darkness which for ever will be the portion of hypocrites. God will separate
between the precious and the vile.
JAMISO , "the angel of God — that is, the pillar of cloud [see on Exo_13:21]. The
slow and silent movement of that majestic column through the air, and occupying a
position behind them must have excited the astonishment of the Israelites (Isa_58:8). It
was an effectual barrier between them and their pursuers, not only protecting them, but
concealing their movements. Thus, the same cloud produced light (a symbol of favor) to
the people of God, and darkness (a symbol of wrath) to their enemies (compare 2Co_
2:16).
CALVI , "19.And the angel of God. A sudden change which occurred to prevent a
battle is here described; for the angel:, who used to go before the Israelites to show
the way: turned to the other side, that he might be interposed between the two
camps; and this, in two respects, because the pillar of fire shone upon the Israelites
to dissipate the darkness of the night, whilst thick darkness held the Egyptians as it
were in captivity, so that they were unable to proceed further. Thus did God both
prevent them from advancing, and also held out a torch for His people all night to
light them on their way. He, who has been called “Jehovah” hitherto, is now
designated by Moses “the Angel;” not only because the angels who represent God
often borrow His name, but because this Leader of the people was God’s only-
begotten Son, who afterwards was manifested in the flesh, as I have shown upon the
authority of Paul. (1 Corinthians 10:4.) It may be remarked, also, that he is said to
have moved here and there, as He showed some token of His power and assistance.
Most clearly, too, does it appear, that the glory of God, whilst it enlightens the
faithful, overshadows the unbelievers, on the other hand, with darkness. o wonder,
then, if now-a-days the brightness of the Gospel should blind the reprobate. But we
should ask of God to make us able to behold His glory.
BE SO , "Exodus 14:19. The angel of God — Whose ministry was made use of in
the pillar of cloud and fire, went from before the camp of Israel, where they did not
now need a guide, (there was no danger of missing their way through the sea,) and

114. came behind them, where now they needed a guard, the Egyptians being just ready
to seize the hindmost of them. There it was of use to the Israelites, not only to
protect them, but to light them through the sea; and at the same time it confounded
the Egyptians, so that they lost sight of their prey just when they were ready to lay
hands on it. The word and providence of God have a black and dark side toward sin
and sinners, but a bright and pleasant side toward those that are Israelites indeed.
COFFMA , "Verse 19-20
PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA
(THE WAY OPE ED)
"And the angel of God who went before the camp of Israel, removed and went
behind them; and the pillar of cloud removed from before them, and stood behind
them: and it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel' and there was
the cloud and the darkness, yet gave it light by night: and the one came not near the
other all night."
In these few enigmatical words stands the record of one of the greatest events since
the Great Deluge. o words were wasted. There is not a word about how the exodus
began, or whether they moved in one massive body of people three miles wide, or if
they went by hundreds, fifties, thousands, or tens of thousands. The order to "go
forward" had been given. God made it possible, and they did it! Just a few details
are recorded. In these verses, we have: (1) the positioning of the Angel of Jehovah
between the two encampments; (2) the positioning of the pillar to correspond with
that, indicating that the pillar was a visible manifestation of the Angel of Jehovah;
and (3) the fact of darkness resting upon the Egyptians and light enabling the
Israelites to go forward at night, suggesting that this was to be a night-time
deliverance. Regarding the Angel of Jehovah: "The Angel of Jehovah, previously
mentioned as the Lord himself, is the pre-incarnated Christ; he moved ahead to
deliver his people."[17]
ELLICOTT, "Verse 19-20
(19, 20) The angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel—The “Jehovah” of
Exodus 13:21 becomes here “the angel of God,” as “the angel of Jehovah” in the
burning bush (Exodus 3:2) becomes “God” (Exodus 14:4), and “Jehovah” (Exodus
14:7). The angel is distinguished from the cloud, and represented as antedating its
movements and directing them. It is clear that the object of the movement now made
was double: (1) to check and trouble the Egyptians by involving them in “cloud and
darkness;” and (2) to cheer and assist the Israelites by affording them abundant
light for all their necessary arrangements. Although there is nothing in the original
corresponding to our translators’ expressions, “to them,” “to these,” yet those
expressions seem to do no more than to bring out the true sense. (Comp, the
Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, the Syriac Version, and the Commentaries of
Rosenmüller, Maurer, Knobel, and Kaliseh.)
TRAPP, "Exodus 14:19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of

115. Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before
their face, and stood behind them:
Ver. 19. And the Angel of God.] Christ, the Angel of God’s presence. See Exodus
13:21; Exodus 23:23.
Went behind them.] So "the glory of the Lord" was "their rearward." [Isaiah 58:8]
He will be to his both van and rear. [Isaiah 52:12]
MACLARE , "A PATH I THE SEA
Exodus 14:19 - - Exodus 14:31.
This passage begins at the point where the fierce charge of the Egyptian chariots
and cavalry on the straggling masses of the fugitives is inexplicably arrested. The
weary day’s march, which must have seemed as suicidal to the Israelites as it did to
their pursuers, had ended in bringing them into a position where, as Luther puts it,
they were like a mouse in a trap or a partridge in a snare. The desert, the sea, the
enemy, were their alternatives. And, as they camped, they saw in the distance the
rapid advance of the dreaded force of chariots, probably the vanguard of an army.
o wonder that they lost heart. Moses alone keeps his head and his faith. He is
rewarded with the fuller promise of deliverance, and receives the power
accompanying the command, to stretch forth his hand, and part the sea. Then
begins the marvellous series of incidents here recorded.
I. The first step in the leisurely march of the divine deliverance is the provision for
checking the Egyptian advance and securing the safe breaking up of the Israelitish
camp. The pursuers had been coming whirling along at full speed, and would soon
have been amongst the disorderly mass, dealing destruction. There was no
possibility of getting the crossing effected unless they were held at bay. When an
army has to ford a river in the face of hostile forces, the hazardous operation is
possible only if a strong rearguard is left on the enemy’s side, to cover the passage.
This is exactly what is done here. The pillar of fire and cloud, the symbol of the
divine presence, passed from the van to the rear. Its guidance was not needed, when
but one path through the sea was possible. Its defence was needed when the foe was
pressing eagerly on the heels of the host. His people’s needs determined then, as they
ever do, the form of the divine presence and help. Long after, the prophet seized the
great lesson of this event, when he broke into the triumphant anticipation of a yet
future deliverance,-which should repeat in fresh experience the ancient victory, ‘The
Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rearward,’ In the place
where the need is sorest, and in the form most required, there and that will God
ever be to those who trust Him.
We can see here, too, a frequent characteristic of the miraculous element in
Scripture, namely, its reaching its end not by a leap, but by a process. Once admit
miracle, and it appears as if adaptation of means to ends was unnecessary. It would
have been as easy to have transported the Israelites bodily and instantaneously to
the other side of the sea, as to have taken these precautions and then cleft the ocean,
and made them march through it. Legendary miracle would have preferred the

116. former way. The Bible miracle usually adapts methods to aims, and is content to
travel to its goal step by step.
or can we omit to notice the double effect of the one manifestation of the divine
presence. The same pillar was light and darkness. The side which was cloud was
turned to the pursuers; that which was light, to Israel. The former were paralysed,
and hindered from advancing a step, or from seeing what the latter were doing;
these, on the other hand, had light thrown on their strange path, and were
encouraged and helped to plunge into the mysterious road, by the ruddy gleam
which disclosed it. So every revelation is either light or darkness to men, according
to the use they make of it. The ark, which slew Philistines, and flung Dagon prone
on his own threshold, brought blessing to the house of Obededom. The Child who
was to be ‘set for the fall,’ was also for ‘the rising of many.’ The stone laid in Zion is
‘a sure foundation,’ and ‘a stone of stumbling.’ The Gospel is the savour of life unto
life, or of death unto death. The same fire melts wax and hardens clay. The same
Christ is salvation and destruction. God is to each of us either our joy or our dread.
II. The sudden march of the Egyptians having thus been arrested, there is leisure,
behind the shelter of the fiery barrier, to take the next step in the deliverance. The
sea is not divided in a moment. Again, we have a process to note, and that brought
about by two things,-Moses’ outstretched rod, and the strong wind which blew all
night. The chronology of that fateful night is difficult to adjust from our narrative.
It would appear, from Exodus 14:20, that the Egyptians were barred advancing
until morning; and, from Exodus 14:21, that the wind which ploughed with its
strong ploughshare a furrow through the sea, took all night for its work. But, on the
other hand, the Israelites must have been well across, and the Egyptians in the very
midst of the passage, ‘in the morning watch,’ and all was over soon after ‘the
morning appeared.’ Probably the wind continued all the night, so as to keep up the
pressure which dammed back the waters, but the path was passable some hours
before the gale abated. It must have been a broad way to admit of some two million
frightened people with wives and children effecting a crossing in the short hours of
part of one night.
But though God used the wind as His besom to sweep a road clear for His people,
the effect produced by ordinary means was extraordinary. o wind that ever blew
would blow water in two opposite directions at once, as a man might shovel snow to
right and left, and heap it in mounds by the sides of the path that he dug. That was
what the text tells us was done. The miracle is none the less a miracle because God
employed physical agents, just as Christ’s miracles were no less miraculous when He
anointed blind eyes with moistened clay, or sent men to wash in Siloam, than when
His bare word raised the dead or stilled the ocean. Wind or no wind, Moses’ rod or
no rod, the true explanation of that broad path cleared through the sea is-’the
waters saw Thee, O God.’ The use of natural means may have been an aid to feeble
faith, encouraging it to step down on to the untrodden and slippery road. The
employment of Moses and his rod was to attest his commission to act as God’s
mouthpiece.
III. Then comes the safe passage. It is hard to imagine the scene. The vivid
impression made by our story is all the more remarkable when we notice how
wanting in detail it is. We do not know the time nor the place. We have no
information about how the fugitives got across, the breadth of the path, or its length.

117. Characteristically enough, Jewish legends know all about both, and assure us that
the waters were parted into twelve ways, one for each tribe, and that the length of
the road was three hundred miles! But Scripture, with characteristic reticence, is
silent about all but the fact. That is enough. We gather, from the much later and
poetical picture of it in Psalms 1:1 - Psalms 1:6, that the passage was accomplished
in the midst of crashing thunder and flashing lightnings; though it may be doubted
whether these are meant to be taken as real or ideal. At all events, we have to think
of these two millions of people-women, children, and followers-plunging into the
depths in the night.
What a scene! The awestruck crowds, the howling wind, perhaps the thunderstorm,
the glow of the pillar glistening on the wet and slimy way, the full paschal moon
shining on the heaped waters! How the awe and the hope must both have increased
with each step deeper in the abyss, and nearer to safety! The Epistle to the Hebrews
takes this as an instance of ‘faith’ on the part of the Israelites; and truly we can feel
that it must have taken some trust in God’s protecting hand to venture on such a
road, where, at any moment, the walls might collapse and drown them all. They
were driven to venture by their fear of Pharaoh; but faith, as well as fear, wrought
in them. Our faith, too, is often called upon to venture upon perilous paths. We may
trust Him to hold back the watery walls from falling. The picture of the crossing
carries eternal truth for us all. The way of safety does not open till we are hemmed
in, and Pharaoh’s chariots are almost come up. It often leads into the very thick of
what we deem perils. It often has to be ventured on in the dark, and with the wind
in our faces. But if we tread it in faith, the fluid will be made solid, and the pathless
passable, or any other apparent impossibility be realised, before our confidence
shall be put to shame, or one real evil reach us.
IV. The next stage is the hot pursuit and the panic of the Egyptians. The narrative
does not mark the point at which the pillar lifted and disclosed the escape of the
prey. It must have been in the night. The baffled pursuers dash after them, either
not seeing, or too excited and furious to heed where they were going. The rough sea
bottom was no place for chariots, and they would be hopelessly distanced by the
fugitives on foot. How long they stumbled and weltered we are not told, but ‘in the
morning watch,’ that is, while it was yet dark, some awful movement in the fiery
pillar awed even their anger into stillness, and drove home the conviction that they
were fighting against God. There is something very terrible in the vagueness, if we
may call it so, of that phrase ‘the Lord looked . . .through the pillar.’ It curdles the
blood as no minuteness of narrative would do. And what a thought that His look
should be a trouble! ‘The steady whole of the judge’s face’ is awful, and some
creeping terror laid hold on that host of mad pursuers floundering in the dark, as
that more than natural light flared on their path. The panic to which all bodies of
soldiers in strange circumstances are exposed, was increased by the growing
difficulty of advance, as the chariot wheels became clogged or the ground more of
quicksand. At last it culminates in a shout of ‘Sauve qui peut!’ We may learn how
close together lie daring rebellion against God and abject terror of Him; and how in
a moment, a glance of His face, a turn of His hand, bring the wildest blasphemer to
cower in fear. We may learn, too, to keep clear of courses which cannot be followed
a moment longer, if once a thought that God sees us comes in. And we may learn the
miserable result of all departure from Him, in making what ought to be our peace

118. and blessing, our misery and terror, and turning the brightness of His face into a
consuming fire.
V. Then comes, at last, the awful act of destruction, of which a man is the agent and
an army the victim. We must suppose the Israelites all safe on the Arabian coast,
when the level sunlight streams from the east on the wild hurry of the fleeing crowd
making for the Egyptian shore. What a solemn sight that young morning looked on!
The wind had dropped, the rod is stretched out, the sea returns to its strength; and
after a few moments’ despairing struggle all is over, and the sun, as it climbs, looks
down upon the unbroken stretch of quiet sea, bearing no trace of the awful work
which it had done, or of the quenched hatred and fury which slept beneath.
We can understand the stern joy which throbs so vehemently in every pulse of that
great song, the first blossom of Hebrew poetry, which the ransomed people sang
that day. We can sympathise with the many echoes in psalm and prophecy, which
repeated the lessons of faith and gratitude. But some will be ready to ask, Was that
triumphant song anything more than narrow national feeling, and has Christianity
not taught us another and tenderer thought of God than that which this lesson
carries? We may ask in return, Was it divine providence that swept the Spanish
Armada from the sea, fulfilling, as the medal struck to commemorate it bore, the
very words of Moses’ song, ‘Thou didst blow with Thy wind, the sea covered them’?
Was it God who overwhelmed apoleon’s army in the Russian snows? Were these,
and many like acts in the world’s history, causes for thankfulness to God? Is it not
true that, as has been well said, ‘The history of the world is the judgment of the
world’? And does Christianity forbid us to rejoice when some mighty and ancient
system of wrong and oppression, with its tools and accomplices, is cleared from off
the face of the earth? ‘When the wicked perish, there is shouting.’ Let us not forget
that the love and gentleness of the Gospel are accompanied by the revelation of
divine judgment and righteous retribution. This very incident has for its last echo in
Scripture that wonderful scene in the Apocalypse, where, in the pause before the
seven angels bearing the seven plagues go forth, the seer beholds a company of
choristers, like those who on that morning stood on the Red Sea shore, standing on
the bank of the ‘sea of glass mingled with fire,’-which symbolises the clear and
crystalline depth of the stable divine judgments, shot with fiery retribution,-and
lifting up by anticipation a song of thanksgiving for the judgments about to be
wrought. That song is expressly called ‘the song of Moses’ and ‘of the Lamb,’ in
token of the essential unity of the two dispensations, and especially of the harmony
of both in their view of the divine judgments. Its ringing praises are modelled on the
ancient lyric. It, too, triumphs in God’s judgments, regards them as means of
making known His name, as done not for destruction, but that His character may be
known and honoured by men, to whom it is life and peace to know and love Him for
what He is.
That final victory over ‘the beast,’ whether he be a person or a tendency, is to
reproduce in higher fashion that old conquest by the Red Sea. There is hope for the
world that its oppressors shall not always tyrannise; there is hope for each soul that,
if we take Christ for our deliverer and our guide, He will break the chains from off
our wrists, and bring us at last to the eternal shore, where we may stand, like the
ransomed people, and, as the unsetting morning dawns, see its beams touching with
golden light the calm ocean, beneath which our oppressors lie buried for ever, and

119. lift up glad thanksgivings to Him who has ‘led us through fire and through water,
and brought us out into a wealthy place.’
PETT, "Exodus 14:19-20
‘And the angel of God who went before the camp of Israel, altered his position and
went behind them, and the pillar of cloud changed its position from before them and
stood behind them. And it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel,
and there was the cloud and the darkness, yet it gave light by night, and the one
came not near the other all night.’
The writer brings home the nearness of God to them, and His personal presence
with them. He comes as ‘the angel of God’, often called ‘the angel of Yahweh’, that
unique and mysterious figure who is God and yet sometimes seems to stand over
against God, whose presence means the special and intimate care of God (see
Genesis 16:9-13; Genesis 21:17-21; Genesis 22:15-18; Genesis 31:11; Exodus 3:2;
umbers 22:22-35; Judges 2:4; Judges 5:23; Judges 6:12-21; Judges 13:3-21). Thus
is brought home that in the pillar of cloud and fire is the personal presence of an
active and powerful God. He is the ‘angel of God (and not Yahweh)’ here because
He confronts Pharaoh as a superior to an inferior, the intrinsically divine against
the unquestionably human.
God had been ahead of them, leading them on in the way that was best for them,
and because of that they should have had more confidence in Him. But now,
knowing their terror, He visibly went behind them to stand between them and the
Egyptians, seeking to reassure them.
“And there was cloud and darkness, and it gave light by night.” To the Egyptians
the cloud brought even more intense darkness (compare Joshua 24:7), but to the
children of Israel it gave light (13:21). This hindered the Egyptians and helped the
children of Israel.
“And it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel.” God’s protection
was visible and effective. For this use of ‘Israel’ in contrast with Egypt compare
Exodus 9:4.
“And the one came not near the other all night.” The suggestion appears to be that
the cloud somehow hindered the Egyptian advance, although it may be just a
statement of fact. It would certainly not be easy, indeed would be unwise, especially
in thick fog, for chariots to advance in the darkness, and as the children of Israel
were trapped it would not have been seen as necessary. Why take the risk?
BI 19-20, "Between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel.
Lessons
1. God in Christ moveth Himself in His hand or work where the Church doth most
need help. Before and behind Israel is He.
2. God by Christ the Angel of His Covenant hath given and doth give all help to His

120. Church (Exo_14:19).
3. God sets His posture for help between cruel persecutors and His Church.
4. The very same means God makes to darken His enemies which enlighten His
people. So the gospel.
5. This interposition of God keeps the wicked world from destroying His Church
(Exo_14:20). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
The removal of Israel’s cloud to the rear
This passage leads me to speak of God our Rearward. It is God alone who can make the
past a source of peace and comfort. We think much of the future; we desire greatly to
have an assurance that all will be well with us in time to come. We accept with gratitude
the promise, “The Lord shall go before thee”; but do we fully consider how important the
concluding part of that passage is—“and be thy rearward”?
I. We often need to be deeply impressed with the memory of past blessings.
II. We need the pillar of cloud behind us for our protection from the evil consequences
of the past. Wonderful sight! the angel of the Lord breaking camp and going to their
rear! that beautiful meteor, the guiding cloud, sailing back over their six hundred
thousand fighting men, powerless as their infants, while Egypt was pouring out its
swarming myriads to swallow them up. So, my soul! thy sins and the hosts of hell are
ready this day to destroy thee; but the angel of the covenant has not forsaken thee; faith
can see Him, as plainly as Israel beheld Him going to their rear to stand between them
and danger; are not His promises a pillar of cloud to you, and do they not stand between
you and the past, saying, “I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine
own sake, and will not remember thy sins”?
III. This rearward angel and this pillar of cloud seem to bid me to say to believers, it
shall be well with you. For these two things are true concerning all who believe in Jesus.
First, you have not seen your best days; and, secondly, you never will. Never through
eternity, will you arrive at that summit of bliss from which you will anticipate
declension. Onward and upward is to be your way. (N. Adams, D. D.)
Different effects of the same events and dealings
1. A family is visited by dreadful calamity; is reduced from a state of ease and
affluence to comparative want. The members of this family are of very different
characters; some of them sincere believers, devout worshippers, faithful servants of
God; ever considering their talents, as lent for God’s use. Other members of the
family are the reverse of all this; sensual, worldly, regardless of spiritual things;
caring for nothing, but that “to-morrow may be as this day, and much more
abundant.” Observe, now, how differently these members of the same family will be
affected by what has befallen them: how the calamity will wear a bright side to some,
and a dark side to others. Trouble of another kind overtakes the same family; a
friend, a relation, upon whom the comfort of their life depended, is suddenly
removed by the stroke of death. Some acknowledge the providential hand of God,
inflicting a wound, but supplying a gracious remedy; they are drawn the more closely
to their sure, unchangeable Friend. But who are they, that are sitting down gloomy

121. and disconsolate and “refusing to be comforted”? They are the godless members of
this family, whose all is in the world, in the creature. And thus, while some are
utterly discomfited by this loss, others can find it to be their gain.
2. This leads me to speak upon the different impressions made upon different
persons by the means of grace, by the doctrines, and promises, and precepts of the
gospel. The humble, faithful servant of God, derives light and life from every portion
of Divine revelation. Very contrary to this are the views and feelings of the blinded
sinner; nay, of the careless, lukewarm, outward believer. The same doctrines, which
afford so much satisfaction and peace to the godly wear to him a different aspect;
“there is no beauty in them that he should desire them”; no power derived from them
even to affect, much less to change, the heart. The same promises also appeal to him
without any encouraging, life-giving effect. And the same holy precepts, instead of
being loved and honoured, are a trouble to his soul: conscience whispers, that he
ought to obey them; and the law of God, instead of being his guide, stands in
opposition to him, and fills him with fear. “The light that is in him is darkness”; that
which is a light to others, and should be a light to him, is perverted into darkness;
and then, “how great is that darkness!” (J. Slade, M. A.)
The glory in the rear
God is always with those who are with Him. If we trust Him, He hath said, “I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee.” There is a special and familiar presence of God with those
who walk uprightly, both in the night of their sorrow, and in the day of their joy. Yet we
do not always in the same way perceive that presence so as to enjoy it. God never leaves
us, but we sometimes think He has done so. The sun shines on, but we do not always
bask in his beams; we sometimes mourn an absent God.
I. In considering the subject of the Lord’s abiding with His people, I shall first call
attention to the Divine presence mysteriously removed. “The angel of God, which went
before the camp of Israel, removed.”
1. The symbol of God’s presence removed from where it had usually been. So has it
been with us at times: we have walked day after day in the light of God’s
countenance, we have enjoyed sweet fellowship with Jesus Christ our Lord, and on a
sudden we have missed His glorious manifestation.
2. Moreover, they missed the light from where they hoped it would always be.
Sometimes you also may imagine that God’s promise is failing you; even the word of
God which you had laid hold upon may appear to you to be contradicted by your
circumstances. Then your heart sinks to the depths, for “if the foundations be
destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
3. The pillar of fire also removed from where it seemed more than ever to be needed.
Even thus is it with you, who once walked in the light of God’s countenance; you
perhaps have fallen into temporal trouble, and at the same moment the heavenly
light has departed from your soul. Now, it is bad to be in the dark on the king’s
highway; but it is worse to be in the dark when you are out on the open common, and
do not know your road. It is well to have a guide when the road is easy; but you must
have one when you are coming upon precipitous and dangerous places. Then let him
trust; but he will need all the faith of which he can be master. Oh, my Lord, if ever
Thou dost leave me, forsake me not in the day of trouble.. Yet what have I said? It is

122. a day of trouble when Thou art gone, whatever my condition may be.
4. Thus it did seem a mysterious thing that the Covenant Angel should no longer
direct the marchings of the host of God, and I dare say that some of them began to
account for it by a reason which their fears would suggest. I should not wonder that,
if they had been asked why the blazing pillar was no longer in the van, they would
have replied, “Because of our murmurings against the Lord and His servant Moses.
God will not go before us because of our sins.” This, however, would have been a
mistake. There was not a touch of the rod about this withdrawing of His presence
from the van, not even a trace of anger; it was all done in lovingkindness. So you
must not always conclude that the loss of conscious joy is necessarily a punishment
for sin. Darkness of soul is not always the fruit of Divine anger, though it is often so.
Sometimes it is sent for a test of faith, for the excitement of desire, and for the
increase of our sympathy with others who walk in darkness. There are a thousand
precious uses in this adversity. Yet it is a mysterious thing when the light of the
future fades, and we seem to be without a guide.
II. Now all this while the Divine presence was graciously near.
1. The Angel of the Lord had removed, but it is added, He “removed and went behind
them,” and He was just as close to them when He was in the rear, as when He led the
van. He might not seem to be their guide, but He had all the more evidently become
their guard. He might not for the moment be their Sun before, but then He had
become their Shield behind. “The glory of the Lord was their rereward.” Oh, soul, the
Lord may be very near thee, and yet He may be behind thee, so that thine outlook for
the future may not be filled with the vision of His glory.
2. Note in the text that it is said the pillar went, and “stood behind them.” I like that,
for it is a settled, permanent matter. The Lord had removed, but He was not
removing still. Even thus the Lord remaineth with the dear child of God. Thou canst
not see anything before thee to make thee glad, but the living God stands behind thee
to ward off the adversary. He cannot forsake thee.
3. What is more, these people hart God so near that they could see Him if they did
but look back. See how the Lord has helped you hitherto.
4. A thoughtful person would conclude the Lord to be all the more evidently near
because of the change of His position. When a symbol of mercy comes to be usual
and fixed, we may be tempted to think that it remains as a matter of routine. If the
rainbow wore always visible it might not be so assuring a token of the covenant.
Hence the Lord often changes His hand, and blesses His people in another way, to let
them see that He is thinking of them.
III. The Divine presence wisely revealed. That the symbol of God’s presence should be
withdrawn from the front and become visible behind, was a wise thing.
1. Observe, there was no fiery pillar of cloud before them, and that was wise; for the
going down into the Red Sea was intended to be an act of lofty faith. The more of the
visible the less is faith visible.
2. Moreover, let us mark that the cloudy pillar was taken away from the front
because the Lord meant them simply to accept His word as their best guidance.
3. Moreover, God was teaching them another lesson, namely, that He may be near
His people when He does not give them the usual tokens of His presence.
4. The host of Israel did not require any guide in front when they came to the sea.

123. “How is that?” say you. There were no two ways to choose from: they could not miss
the way, for they must needs march through the sea. So when men come into deep
trouble, and cannot get out of it, they scarcely need a guide; for their own plain path
is submission and patience.
5. What they did want was the pillar of cloud behind them, and that is where they
had it. What was that cloud behind them for? Well, it was there for several reasons:
the first was to shut out the sight of their enemies from them. The cloudy pillar went
behind for another reason, namely, that the Egyptians might not see them. Their
enemies were made to stumble, and were compelled to come to a dead stand. Be
calm, O child of God; for the Covenant Angel is dealing with your adversaries, and
His time is generally the night.
IV. That the Divine presence will one day be more gloriously revealed. “The Lord will go
before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.” This is the condition into which
the Lord brings His people when they depart from Babylon, and are no more conformed
to this present evil world.
V. This Divine presence has a twofold aspect: that same glory which lit up the canvas
city, and made it bright as the day, darkened all the camps of Egypt. They could see
nothing, for the dark side of God was turned to them. Oh, is it not a dreadful thing that
to some men the most terrible thing in the world would be God? If you could get away
from God, how happy you would be! One of these days Jesus will tell you to depart.
“Keep on as you were,” says He, “you were always departing from God; keep on
departing. Depart from Me ye cursed!” That will be the consummation of your life. (C. H.
Spurgeon.)
Lessons
I. The sureness of God’s interposition when He is needed, in the way His wisdom
chooses (Exo_14:19). When we are called to difficult duty, God will keep His promise to
be with us, and always His help will be found stationed at the exposed point.
II. The revelation of a twofold character in God’s dealings with men (Exo_14:20; see
Luk_2:34; 2Co_2:16; Rev_11:5; Mat_21:42-44; Joh_9:39).
III. The practical bearing of a courageous faith (Exo_14:21). We may never be put
before an actual ocean tossing with billows under difficult stress of demand like this; but
we shall often be placed where mere obedience is commanded, and where God’s
covenant is all that ensures success. “Doing duty belongs to us; achieving deliverance
belongs to God.” Then it is that an unbroken faith “laughs at impossibility,” and says, “It
shall be done!”
IV. The perfect safety of a believer’s exposure, upon a promise of the living God (Exo_
14:22). One of Aristotle’s sayings may well be quoted here. He says: “Every how rests
upon a that.” That is, if God has declared that a difficult duty is to be done, He may be
trusted to show how it is to be done. He will never ask us into straits of obedience
without providing for our preservation. And when once a path of service is lying out
before us, it does not matter at all how dangerous it appears; we shall go through it
without harm. So our safety is in the exposure when God is our companion. His love will
hold the sea-walls steady, and the seawalls will keep back Pharaoh. Some solicitous
friends once warned Whitefield to spare himself in such extraordinary efforts; he only
answered with words that long ago went into history “I am immortal till my work is

124. done!”
V. The forgetfulness and incorrigibleness of a daring unbelief (Exo_14:23).
VI. The mercy of God, exhibited in the fact that the way of the transgressor is hard
(Exo_14:24). Up to the last moment there was a chance for that pursuing army to retreat
by the way they came. So it was a manifest benevolence to them on the part of God to
hinder them as much as possible. Chrysostom calls attention to the familiar fact that
God always warns before He waits, and waits before He strikes, and strikes before He
crushes, so as to give space for repentance. He threatens plagues so that we may avoid
plagues; and indeed, remarks the golden-tongued orator, it is doubtful whether the
prospect of hell has not availed as much as the promise of heaven in hindering the
blasphemies of open sin. We may safely assert now that many a man has had occasion to
thank God that his chariot-wheels drave heavily, so that he recognized the hindering
hand of his Maker (Exo_14:25).
VII. Our last lesson is concerning the sure judgments of Almighty wrath when once the
cup of iniquity is full (Exo_14:26). (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
A double aspect
It makes a good deal of difference which side of a barrier you are on, in your estimate of
the actual worth of that barrier. To the burglar, a strongly barred door is a great
annoyance. It is a real comfort to those who can lie down to sleep behind it at night. A
garden wall is a pleasant protection to those who can walk freely within its enclosure. It
frowns gloomily on those whom it shuts out from a share of the joys within. Another’s
wrong-doing which separates him from us, may be a source of light to us and of only
despair to him. Even a cause of misunderstanding with others may be a source of
advantage to us and of worry to them. The cloud of trouble which they and we faced
together for a while, now that it has been put behind us, and before them, may shed light
on our path by the lessons it teaches us, while it confuses them just as much as ever. The
knowledge of the Scriptures, and the commandments of the moral law, only make
plainer the course of the child of God; but they are a cause of continued trial and
discomfort to him who is unwilling to walk in the way God has pointed out. (H. C.
Trumbull.)
The dividing pillar
A tradition current in the west of Scotland tells that when one of the Covenanting
preachers and his little band of hearers had been surprised on a hill-side by the military,
the minister cried out, “Lord, throw Thy mantle over us, and protect us.” And
immediately out of the clear sky there fell a mist, which sundered and protected the
pursued from the pursuers. And a Netherland tradition tells how a little army of
Protestants was once saved from the king of Spain’s troops by the flashing lights and
noise as of an army sent by the Lord to throw confusion into the camp of the enemy. The
teacher will recollect the story of the Christian woman, who calmly awaiting in her home
the approach of the enemy, was, in answer to her prayer, saved from them by a circling
wall of snow. The dividing pillar is a reality yet. (S. S. Times.)

125. Different aspects of the same thing
There are many scenes in life which are either sad or beautiful, cheerless or refreshing,
according to the direction from which we approach them. If, on a morning in spring, we
behold the ridges of a fresh-turned ploughed field from their northern side, our eyes,
catching only the shadowed slopes of the successive furrows, see an expanse of white,
the unmelted remains of the night’s hailstorm, or the hoar-frost of the dawn. We make a
circuit, or we cross over, and look behind us, and on the very same ground there is
nothing to be seen but the rich brown soil, swelling in the sunshine, warm with promise,
and chequered perhaps here and there with a green blade bursting through the surface.
(J. A. Froude.)
Verses 21-25 Made the sea dry land.—
The sea-path
I. The deed of valour. Moses walking down the gravelly beach into the sea; Israel
following. A lesson to us to come with boldness.
II. The miraculous way. We walk in new and unseen ways.
III. The overthrow of the enemy.
1. His wrath.
2. His foolhardiness; forgetting the plagues. All sin is irrational.
3. His sudden destruction. Death surprises the impenitent.
IV. The same instruments both defending and destroying.
1. The cloud.
2. The water.
3. The gospel.
V. What Israel found in the sea-path.
1. Rebuke for the murmuring.
2. Filial fear.
3. Trust in God.
4. Trust in Moses.
5. Nationality; before, they were all slaves, then free men, now a nation.
Learn:
1. All people must struggle and dare.
2. Our characters come from soul-struggles where self is abandoned, and trust is put
in God.
3. Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.
4. God will, out of every temptation, make a way of escape. (Dr. Fowler.)

126. A treacherous element
“An easy conquest!” said the eagle, attracted by the glittering scales of a large fish, which
shone through the clear, deep waters of the lake. “An easy conquest!” As he dashed into
the water, it was as if lightning had smitten the cliff and a fragment of it had fallen into
the lake. There was a struggle; the fish dived, and drew the eagle with it. “Ah!” exclaimed
the drowning king of birds, “had I been in the air, who would have dared to measure
strength with me? But in this strange and treacherous element, I am overcome by one
whom elsewhere I should have despised.” (Great Thoughts.)
Safe in the danger of duty
“The waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.” It is amazing
what a blessing the things that we dreaded most become to us, when we go straight
toward them at the call of God! The sea of business troubles, which looked as if it never
could be crossed, but which we had no choice but to enter, how it opened right and left
as we came to it, and then became to us a wall against competitors on either side,
because we had ventured into its very depths when it was our clear duty to do that and
nothing else! That desert life of danger which we entered with fear and trembling, at the
call of our country, or of some loved one of our family, or of some dear friend, how its
very exposures and trying experiences toughened us and trained us, and made us
stronger and manlier and happier, so that its results to-day—its physical and mental and
moral results-are as a wall of protection to us on our right hand and on our left! There is
no place in all the world so safe for us as the place of danger, when danger is a duty. The
best way of caring for ourselves is not to care for ourselves. If we want to walk dry shod,
with a wall shielding us on either hand, the better way is to plunge right overboard into a
sea of work or of trial or of peril, when God says Go forward. (H. C. Trumbull.)
Overthrew the Egyptians.
The destruction of the Egyptians
Consider this destruction of Pharaoh and his host as—
I. A judgment. It was—
1. Sudden in its execution. No warning given.
2. Terrible in its nature. Involving the destruction of a whole army, the picked men
of the most powerful nation in the world.
3. Well merited by the subjects of it. Repeated warnings were conveyed in the
plagues, yet all were now disregarded.
II. A deliverance. Israel delivered from Pharaoh—
1. Out of a perilous situation.
2. Notwithstanding their want of faith.
3. By a glorious miracle.
III. A lesson to—
1. The sinner. Beware lest your end be like Pharaoh’s; heed the warnings given to

127. you.
2. The Christian. Learn to know the greatness of your deliverance from the host of
Satan. (H. Barnard, B. A.)
It is not always safe to follow those who are in the path of duty
A place that is the safest in the world for one man may be the most dangerous in the
world for the next man. The portcullis which comes down to shut in the endangered
refugee, may crush to death his close pursuer. Because another man actually saves his
life and acquires new strength by exposing himself in some sea of battle, or pestilence, or
perils of search for a lost one, it is no reason why you should venture in that same line. II
God told him to go there, the very waves of danger were a shield to him; but if you have
no call there, those waves may overwhelm you. His risks in business prove his safety,
because he made them in faith, when God commanded them. They would be your ruin if
you presumed on them without a command from God, The question for you is not, Is
that other man safe in that sea? but, Do I belong there? The call of God settles the
question of your place of duty and your place of safety. God gives the walls of protection
to His children when they are where He tells them to be. God throws down those very
walls on those who have no business to be there. (H. C. Trumbull. )
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.
CLARKE, "It was a cloud and darkness to them, etc. - That the Israelites
might not be dismayed at the appearance of their enemies, and that these might not be
able to discern the object of their pursuit, the pillar of cloud moved from the front to the
rear of the Israelitish camp, so as perfectly to separate between them and the Egyptians.
It appears also that this cloud had two sides, one dark and the other luminous: the
luminous side gave light to the whole camp of Israel during the night of passage; and the
dark side, turned towards the pursuing Egyptians, prevented them from receiving any
benefit from that light. How easily can God make the same thing an instrument of
destruction or salvation, as seems best to his godly wisdom! He alone can work by all
agents, and produce any kind of effect even by the same instrument; for all things serve

128. the purposes of his will.
GILL, "And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of
Israel,.... That is, the pillar of cloud, and the Angel of God, or Jehovah, in it, whereby
the camp of Israel was secured from being annoyed by the camp of the Egyptians; and
was an emblem of the gracious interposition of Christ between his spiritual Israel, whom
he has redeemed by his blood, and their spiritual enemies, the Egyptians, the men of the
world that hate them, from whose rage and malice Christ is their protection and
safeguard:
and it was a cloud and darkness to them; to the Egyptians; it cast a shade upon
them, and made the darkness of the night still greater to them, so that they could not see
their way, and knew not where they were:
but it gave light by night to these; to the Israelites, so that they could see their way,
and walk on in the midst of the sea, as on dry land; and such a light and guide they
needed; for it was now the twenty first day of the month, seven days after the full of the
moon, when the passover began, and therefore could have no benefit from the moon.
The Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem say, that half the cloud was light, and half
darkness; and it seems plain from the account, that that side of it which was towards the
Egyptians was dark, and that which was towards the Israelites was light, and so an
hinderance to the one and a benefit to the other: thus Christ is set for the rising of some,
and the fall of others; and his Gospel is to some the savour of death unto death, and to
others the savour of life unto life; to the one it is a hidden Gospel, and lies in darkness
and obscurity, and to others a great and glorious light:
so that one came not near the other all the night; an emblem of that division and
separation which the grace of God, the blood of Christ, and the light of the Gospel, make
between the true Israel of God, and the men of the world; and which will continue
throughout time, and to all eternity, so that they will never come near to each other; see
Luk_16:26.
K&D, "“And it was the cloud and the darkness (sc., to the Egyptians), and lighted up
the night (sc., to the Israelites).” Fuit nubes partim lucida et partim tenebricosa, ex una
parte tenebricosa fuit Aegyptiis, ex altera lucida Israelitis (Jonathan). Although the
article is striking in ְ‫ך‬ ֶ‫חשׁ‬ ַ‫ה‬ְ‫,ו‬ the difficulty is not to be removed, as Ewald proposes, by
substituting ְ‫ך‬ ִ‫שׁ‬ ֶ‫ח‬ ֶ‫ה‬ְ‫,ו‬ “and as for the cloud, it caused darkness;” for in that case the
grammar would require the imperfect with ‫ו‬ consec. This alteration of the text is also
rendered suspicious from the fact that both Onkelos and the lxx read and render the
word as a substantive.
ISBET, "DARK ESS A D LIGHT
‘It was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these.’
Exodus 14:20
The guiding cloud severed the camp of Egypt from the camp of Israel. It marched
between them. To the one it was God’s presence, cheering despondency, comforting
weakness, guaranteeing victory; to the other it was a perplexing, baffling, vexing

129. apparition, betokening they knew not what, yet this at all events, that Israel had a
friend, a guide, a comforter, and they must drive after him their chariots of earth,
with such hope and such might as earth fighting against Heaven can muster.
I. Every word of God is at once a cloud and darkness to Egypt and a light by night
to Israel.—So far as revelation goes, it is to the believing what it calls itself—a light
and a lamp. The real mysteries of our being were there before revelation: the
mystery of life, the mystery of death, the mystery of an omnipotent God resisted,
and the mystery of a holy God co-existent with evil. Whatever revelation does in
reference to these aboriginal mysteries is in the direction of explanation.
II. Trinity Sunday is, in an especial sense, the Festival of Revelation.—Trinity and
unity are not contraries. The word Trinity was invented to preserve the unity.
Trinity is triunity. The doctrine of the Trinity is this, that Holy Scripture, while
tenaciously clinging to the unity, does present to us our Lord Jesus Christ as very
God, and does present to us the Holy Spirit of God, not as a thing, but as a Person.
Leave out of sight for one hour the Divinity of Jesus, and darkness settles again
upon the soul which He died, which He lives, to redeem. Leave out of sight for one
hour the personality of the Spirit, and darkness settles again upon the soul of which
He is the Light, because the Life. We may listlessly dream or purposelessly loiter;
but when a work is proposed to us, and we must do it or die, then we want that help,
and must have it, which only a Trinity in unity can supply.
Dean Vaughan.
Illustration
‘The same cloud was darkness to the Egyptians and light to the Israelites. This
illustrates God’s relation respectively to His friends and His enemies. To His own
people He is light, protection, shelter, friendship, help; but those who are not
reconciled to Him do not find these things in God. To the impenitent the thought of
Him always brings terror and alarm. God’s providence in like manner has this
double aspect. The Christian sees love everywhere. He knows that all things are
working together for good to Him because He is God’s child. He sees His Father
ordering all things with love and wisdom, and never is afraid. When He cannot
understand, He trusts and waits. But to the unreconciled man this same providence
is not only a dark mystery but is full of alarm. There is no sense of safety, no
assurance of protection, no consciousness of love anywhere in the universe for Him.
To the unbeliever death is a dark cloud, filled with thunders and lightnings; but to
the Christian it is a glorious radiance of Divine love. So will it be in the judgment.
To His own people, Christ will then be all glorious, His appearance will give
unspeakable joy. But to the ungodly His presence will bring terror.’

130. 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,
BAR ES, "A strong east wind - The agency by which the object effected was
natural (compare Exo_15:8 note): and the conditions of the narrative are satisfied by the
hypothesis, that the passage took place near Suez.
The waters were divided - i. e. there was a complete separation between the water
of the gulf and the water to the north of Kolsum.
CLARKE, "The Lord caused the sea to go back - That part of the sea over which
the Israelites passed was, according to Mr. Bruce and other travelers, about four leagues
across, and therefore might easily be crossed in one night. In the dividing of the sea two
agents appear to be employed, though the effect produced can be attributed to neither.
By stretching out the rod the waters were divided; by the blowing of the vehement,
ardent, east wind, the bed of the sea was dried. It has been observed, that in the place
where the Israelites are supposed to have passed, the water is about fourteen fathoms or
twenty-eight yards deep: had the wind mentioned here been strong enough, naturally
speaking, to have divided the waters, it must have blown in one narrow track, and
continued blowing in the direction in which the Israelites passed; and a wind sufficient
to have raised a mass of water twenty-eight yards deep and twelve miles in length, out of
its bed, would necessarily have blown the whole six hundred thousand men away, and
utterly destroyed them and their cattle. I therefore conclude that the east wind, which
was ever remarked as a parching, burning wind, was used after the division of the
waters, merely to dry the bottom, and render it passable. For an account of the hot
drying winds in the east, See Clarke’s note on Gen_8:1. God ever puts the highest honor
on his instrument, Nature; and where it can act, he ever employs it. No natural agent
could divide these waters, and cause them to stand as a wall upon the right hand and
upon the left; therefore God did it by his own sovereign power. When the waters were
thus divided, there was no need of a miracle to dry the bed of the sea and make it
passable; therefore the strong desiccating east wind was brought, which soon
accomplished this object. In this light I suppose the text should be understood.
GILL, "And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,.... With his rod in it, as
he was directed to, Exo_14:16. What the poet says (z) of Bacchus is more true of Moses,
whose rod had been lift up upon the rivers Egypt, and now upon the Red sea:
and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night;
and the direction of the Red sea being nearly, if not altogether, north and south, it was in

131. a proper situation to be wrought upon and divided by an easterly wind; though the
Septuagint version renders it a strong south wind. No wind of itself, without the exertion
and continuance of almighty power, in a miraculous way, could have so thrown the
waves of the sea on heaps, and retained them so long, that such a vast number of people
should pass through it as on dry land; though this was an instrument Jehovah made use
of, and that both to divide the waters of the sea, and to dry and harden the bottom of it,
and make it fit for travelling, as follows:
and made the sea dry land; or made the bottom of it dry, so that it could be trod and
walked upon with ease, without sinking in, sticking fast, or slipping about, which was
very extraordinary:
and the waters were divided; or "after the waters were divided" (a); for they were
first divided before the sea could be made dry. The Targum of Jonathan says, the waters
were divided into twelve parts, answerable to the twelve tribes of Israel, and the same is
observed by other Jewish writers (b), grounded upon a passage in Psa_136:13 and
suppose that each tribe took its particular path.
HE RY, "We have here the history of that work of wonder which is so often
mentioned both in the Old and New Testament, the dividing of the Red Sea before the
children of Israel. It was the terror of the Canaanites (Jos_2:9, Jos_2:10), the praise and
triumph of the Israelites, Psa_114:3; Psa_106:9; Psa_136:13, Psa_136:14. It was a type
of baptism, 1Co_10:1, 1Co_10:2. Israel's passage through it was typical of the conversion
of souls (Isa_11:15), and the Egyptians' perdition in it was typical of the final ruin of all
impenitent sinners, Rev_20:14. Here we have,
I. An instance of God's almighty power in the kingdom of nature, in dividing the sea,
and opening a passage through the waters. It was a bay, or gulf, or arm of the sea, two or
three leagues over, which was divided, Exo_14:21. The instituted sign made use of was
Moses's stretching out his hand over it, to signify that it was done in answer to his
prayer, for the confirmation of his mission, and in favour to the people whom he led. The
natural sign was a strong east wind, signifying that it was done by the power of God,
whom the winds and the seas obey. If there be any passage in the book of Job which has
reference to the miracles wrought for Israel's deliverance out of Egypt, it is that in Job_
26:12, He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smileth through
Rahab (so the word is), that is, Egypt. Note, God can bring his people through the
greatest difficulties, and force a way where he does not find it. The God of nature has not
tied himself to its laws, but, when he pleases, dispenses with them, and then the fire does
not burn, nor the water flow.
JAMISO , "Moses stretched out his hand, etc. — The waving of the rod was of
great importance on this occasion to give public attestation in the presence of the
assembled Israelites, both to the character of Moses and the divine mission with which
he was charged.
the Lord caused ... a strong east wind all that night — Suppose a mere ebb tide
caused by the wind, raising the water to a great height on one side, still as there was not
only “dry land,” but, according to the tenor of the sacred narrative, a wall on the right
hand and on the left [Exo_14:22], it would be impossible on the hypothesis of such a
natural cause to rear the wall on the other. The idea of divine interposition, therefore, is
imperative; and, assuming the passage to have been made at Mount Attakah, or at the

132. mouth of Wady Tawarik, an east wind would cut the sea in that line. The Hebrew word
kedem, however, rendered in our translation, “east,” means, in its primary signification,
previous; so that this verse might, perhaps, be rendered, “the Lord caused the sea to go
back by a strong previous wind all that night”; a rendering which would remove the
difficulty of supposing the host of Israel marched over on the sand, in the teeth of a
rushing column of wind, strong enough to heap up the waters as a wall on each side of a
dry path, and give the intelligible narrative of divine interference.
K&D 21-24, "When Moses stretched out his hand with the staff (Exo_14:16) over the
sea, “Jehovah made the water go (flow away) by a strong east wind the whole night,
and made the sea into dry (ground), and the water split itself” (i.e., divided by flowing
northward and southward); “and the Israelites went in the midst of the sea (where the
water had been driven away by the wind) in the dry, and the water was a wall (i.e., a
protection formed by the damming up of the water) on the right and on the left.” ‫ים‬ ִ‫ד‬ ָ‫,ק‬
the east wind, which may apply either to the south-east or north-east, as the Hebrew has
special terms for the four quarters only. Whether the wind blew directly from the east, or
somewhat from the south-east or north-east, cannot be determined, as we do not know
the exact spot where the passage was made. in any case, the division of the water in both
directions could only have been effected by an east wind; and although even now the ebb
is strengthened by a north-east wind, as Tischendorf says, and the flood is driven so
much to the south by a strong north-west wind that the gulf can be ridden through, and
even forded on foot, to the north of Suez (v. Schub. Reise ii. p. 269), and “as a rule the
rise and fall of the water in the Arabian Gulf is nowhere so dependent upon the wind as
it is at Suez” (Wellsted, Arab. ii. 41, 42), the drying of the sea as here described cannot be
accounted for by an ebb strengthened by the east wind, because the water is all driven
southwards in the ebb, and not sent in two opposite directions. Such a division could
only be produced by a wind sent by God, and working with omnipotent force, in
connection with which the natural phenomenon of the ebb may no doubt have exerted a
subordinate influence.
(Note: But as the ebb at Suez leaves the shallow parts of the gulf so far dry, when a
strong wind is blowing, that it is possible to cross over them, we may understand
how the legend could have arisen among the Ichthyophagi of that neighbourhood
(Diod. Sic. 3, 39) and even the inhabitants of Memphis (Euseb. praep. ev. 9, 27), that
the Israelites took advantage of a strong ebb, and how modern writers like Clericus
have tried to show that the passage through the sea may be so accounted for.)
The passage was effected in the night, through the whole of which the wind was blowing,
and in the morning watch (between three and six o'clock, Exo_14:24) it was finished.
As to the possibility of a whole nation crossing with their flocks, Robinson concludes
that this might have been accomplished within the period of an extraordinary ebb, which
lasted three, or at the most four hours, and was strengthened by the influence of a
miraculous wind. “As the Israelites,” he observes, “numbered more than two millions of
persons, besides flocks and herds, they would of course be able to pass but slowly. If the
part left dry were broad enough to enable them to cross in a body one thousand abreast,
which would require a space of more than half a mile in breadth (and is perhaps the
largest supposition admissible), still the column would be more than two thousand
persons in depth, and in all probability could not have extended less than two miles. It
would then have occupied at least an hour in passing over its own length, or in entering
the sea; and deducting this from the largest time intervening, before the Egyptians also
have entered the sea, there will remain only time enough, under the circumstances, for

133. the body of the Israelites to have passed, at the most, over a space of three or four miles.”
(Researches in Palestine, vol. i. p. 84.)
But as the dividing of the water cannot be accounted for by an extraordinary ebb, even
though miraculously strengthened, we have no occasion to limit the time allowed for the
crossing to the ordinary period of an ebb. If God sent the wind, which divided the water
and laid the bottom dry, as soon as night set in, the crossing might have begun at nine
o'clock in the evening, if not before, and lasted till four of five o'clock in the morning (see
Exo_14:27). By this extension of the time we gain enough for the flocks, which Robinson
has left out of his calculation. The Egyptians naturally followed close upon the Israelites,
from whom they were only divided by the pillar of cloud and fire; and when the rear of
the Israelites had reached the opposite shore, they were in the midst of the sea. And in
the morning watch Jehovah cast a look upon them in the pillar of cloud and fire, and
threw their army into confusion (Exo_14:24). The breadth of the gulf at the point in
question cannot be precisely determined. At the narrowest point above Suez, it is only
two-thirds of a mile in breadth, or, according to Niebuhr, 3450 feet; but it was probably
broader formerly, and even now is so farther up, opposite to Tell Kolzum (Rob. i. pp. 84
and 70). The place where the Israelites crossed must have been broader, otherwise the
Egyptian army, with more than six hundred chariots and many horsemen, could not
have been in the sea and perished there when the water returned. - “And Jehovah looked
at the army of the Egyptians in (with) the pillar of cloud and fire, and troubled it.” This
look of Jehovah is to be regarded as the appearance of fire suddenly bursting forth from
the pillar of cloud that was turned towards the Egyptians, which threw the Egyptian
army into alarm and confusion, and not as “a storm with thunder and lightning,” as
Josephus and even Rosenmüller assume, on the ground of Psa_78:18-19, though
without noticing the fact that the psalmist has merely given a poetical version of the
event, and intends to show “how all the powers of nature entered the service of the
majestic revelation of Jehovah, when He judged Egypt and set Israel free” (Delitzsch).
The fiery look of Jehovah was a much more stupendous phenomenon than a storm;
hence its effect was incomparably grander, viz., a state of confusion in which the wheels
of the chariots were broken off from the axles, and the Egyptians were therefore
impeded in their efforts to escape.
CALVI , "21.And Moses stretched out. We have already said that the passage was
free and convenient for the Israelites by night, since the pillar of fire replenished
their side with light: and certainly so great a multitude could not reach the opposite
shore in an hour or two. The Israelites then passed over from evening even till
dawn; and then the Egyptians having discovered that they were gone, hastened to
follow that they might fall upon their rear. ow, though Moses uses no ornaments of
language in celebrating this miracle, yet the bare recital ought to be sufficient; and,
therefore, is more emphatic to awaken our admiration than any rhetorical coloring
and magnificent eloquence. For who would desire sounding exclamations, in order
to be ravished to the highest admiration of the divine power, when he is told simply
and in a few words that the sea was divided by the rod of Moses; that space enough
for the passage of the people was dry; that the mighty mass of waters stood like solid
rocks on either side? Designedly, then, has he set the whole matter before our eyes
bare of all verbal splendor; although it will both be celebrated soon after, in
accordance with its dignity, in the Canticle, and is everywhere more splendidly
magnified by the Prophets and in the Psalms. In this passage let us learn, just as if

134. Moses were leading us to the actual circumstance, to fix our eyes on the prospect of
God’s inestimable power, which cannot be sufficiently expressed by any number or
force of words. But Moses is very careful not to arrogate more than enough for
himself, so as to detract from the praise of God. He had been before commanded to
divide the sea with his uplifted rod; he now changes the form of expression, viz., that
the waters went back by the command of God. Thus, content with the character of a
minister, he makes God alone, as was fit, the author of the miracle. But although it
was competent for God to dispel the waters without any motion of the air, yet, that
He might show that all nature was obedient to Him, and governed at His will, He
was pleased to raise the strong east wind. Meanwhile it is to be remembered, that
the sea could not be dried by arty wind, however strong, unless it had been effected
by the secret power of the Spirit, beyond the ordinary operation of nature. On
which point see my previous annotations on chap. 10:13 and 19.
BE SO , "Exodus 14:21-22. And Moses stretched out his hand, &c. — We have
here the history of that work of wonder which is so often mentioned both in the Old
and ew Testaments. An instance of God’s almighty power in dividing the sea, and
opening a passage through the waters. It was a bay, or gulf, or arm of the sea, two
or three leagues over. The God of nature has not tied himself to its laws, but when
he pleases dispenseth with them, and then the fire doth not burn, nor the water flow.
They went through the sea to the opposite shore; they walked upon dry land in the
midst of the sea; and the pillar of cloud being their rearward, the waters were a wall
to them on their right hand, and on their left — Moses and Aaron, it is likely,
ventured first into this untrodden path, and then all Israel after them; and this
march through the paths of the great waters would make their march afterward
through the wilderness less formidable. This march through the sea was in the
night, and not a moonshine night, for it was seven days after the full moon, so that
they had no light but what they had from the pillar of fire. This made it the more
awful; but where God leads us, he will light us; while we follow his conduct we shall
not want his comforts.
COFFMA , "Verses 21-25
PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA
(THEY CROSS OVER)
"And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and Jehovah caused the sea to go
back by a strong east wind all 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.
And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all
Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass in the
morning watch, that Jehovah looked forth upon the host of the Egyptians through
the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians. And he
took off their chariot wheels, and they drove them heavily; so that the Egyptians
said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for Jehovah fighteth for them against the

135. Egyptians."
ow, there are all kinds of rationalistic "explanations" about how the returning
waters turned the dry ground into quicksand or mud, but, to us, such aids of our
understanding are in the class with those arguments about how Lazarus had been
embalmed, whether by the Egyptian or some other method, all such speculations
being for the purpose of helping the Lord Jesus Christ get Lazarus out of the tomb,
when he called, "Lazarus, Come forth!" It seems never to occur to such
"explainers," that what they are trying to do is help the Lord get a man out of the
grave after he had just raised him from the dead! It is absolutely immaterial how
God defeated the Egyptians; the fact remains that he did so; and that not a one of
them escaped death by drowning in an area "in the midst of the sea," which only
shortly before had been dry ground!
"Let us glee ..." Alas, when it was too late, they decided to cease their struggle
against the will of God.
"A strong east wind ..." See the chapter introduction (above) for the note on God's
use of natural forces in the achievement of the great wonder here. To us, it seems
certain that whatever natural forces were brought into the event here, it still
remains an unqualified miracle of the greatest magnitude. Of course, God used
natural means, as in practically all, if not all, of the great wonders seen in the
plagues, and, therefore, it should have been expected that the great forces of nature,
eternally under God's control, would have been deployed by Him in the
achievement of His will here.
"It went before the camp ... and there was darkness and blackness ..." This is the
Septuagint (LXX) rendition of Exodus 14:20, followed also by the RSV, and if this is
correct, it would mean that the ordinary darkness of the night was accompanied by
and intensified by an even greater darkness emanating from the cloud. The effect
was to make it impossible for the Egyptians to know what was going on until
daybreak.
"The sea returned to its strength ..." (Exodus 14:27) This means that it returned to
its usual depth. In the light of this, what becomes of the "Reed Sea" or
"swampland" speculations? This text says that, at the place where Israel crossed
and all the Egyptians drowned, "The sea-bed was always covered with strong
waters."[18]
"The waters were a wall unto them ..." Misunderstanding this metaphor has
resulted in all kinds of bizarre statements about perpendicular "walls of water," but
nothing like that is here. "The metaphor is no more to be taken literally than when
Ezra 9:9 says that God has given him a wall (same word) in Israel."[19] The
meaning is that both the left and right flanks of Israel were protected by the waters.
It was only a passageway that God cleared. The "heaps" of waters, right and left,
were of the same character of the "heap" of waters at high tides or in front of a
hurricane. Throughout this narrative we have been repeatedly reminded of the

136. great natural wonder in the Bay of Fundy, where some of the highest tides on earth
occur. In one hour ships may be seen, mighty freighters unloading or loading at the
docks along the shore, and after the tide goes out, the same ships may be seen
resting upon their keels in the soft sea-bed thirty feet below the level only a few
hours previously, and the area covered by this phenomenon is thousands of square
miles! What occurs there regularly and naturally is similar to what occurred here
supernaturally!
COKE, "Exodus 14:21. Moses stretched out his hand, &c.— othing can be more
plain from the context, than that the Almighty power of the Lord, by the
instrumentality of a strong east wind, caused an absolute division in the body of the
waters of the Red-sea; and therefore those commentators seem much to blame, who
endeavour to lessen the greatness of this miracle, by suppositions plausible to
human reason, but derogatory from the Omnipotence of God, and the true meaning
of the sacred Scriptures. Whatever instruments the Almighty might think fit to use;
it is unquestionable that the power was derived wholly from him; and that it was by
an immediate act of his will, not by any regular process of natural causes, that the
sea, divided into two parts, gave a free passage to the Israelites; the waters being a
wall to them on their right hand, and on their left, Exodus 14:22 the pillar of cloud
conducting them; and the same waters, which, obedient to the word of God, had
opened to give a passage to his people, equally obedient to his command of death,
overwhelming the enemies of Israel in the waves of destruction. What we render by
a strong east wind, the Vulgate renders by a violent and burning wind; see note on
ch. Exodus 10:13. This wind blew all night; so that the division of the sea was some
time in perfecting: the strong east wind put the waters in motion, and gradually
effected this wonderful separation. The word which we render to go back, does not
signify, strictly, to go back; it denotes local motion, going or moving, in whatever
manner; and so you may observe, that back, in our version, is printed in Italics. The
Psalmist, in Psalms 136:13 says expressly that the Red-sea was divided into two
parts; which some of the Jews, very absurdly, have imagined to signify twelve
several parts for their twelve several tribes to pass through. The original says, that
he divided the Red-sea into divisions; which most obviously and clearly expresses a
division into two parts.
ELLICOTT, "(21) The Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind.—By
“a strong east wind” we are at liberty to understand one blowing from any point
between .Ë. and S.E. If we imagine the Bitter Lakes joined to the Red Sea by a
narrow and shallow channel, and a south-east wind blowing strongly up this
channel, we can easily conceive that the water in the Bitter Lakes might be driven
northward, and’ held there, while the natural action of the ebb tide withdrew the
Red Sea water to the southward. A portion of the channel might in this way have
been left dry, and have so continued until the wind changed and the tide began to
flow. It is true that Scripture does not speak of the ebb and flow of the tide, since in
them there was nothing unusual; but an Egyptian tradition distinctly stated that
“Moses waited for the ebb tide in order to lead the Israelites across.” (Artipanus, ap.
Euseb. Prœp. Ev., .) Whether the whole effect was purely natural, or whether (as in
so many other cases) Goa used the force of nature so far as it could go, and further

137. supernaturally increased its force, we are not told, and may form what opinion we
please.
The waters were divided.—The waters of the Bitter Lakes were for a time separated
completely from those of the Red Sea. By gradual elevation and desiccation the
channel over which the Israelites passed has probably now become dry land.
TRAPP, "Exodus 14:21 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.
Ver. 21. And Moses stretched out his hand.] Of that pseudo-Moses that cozened
many credulous Jews of Crete into the midst of the sea, anno 434, see Funceius’s
Chron. at that year.
And the waters were divided.] So was that torrent of fire, if Aristotle (a) may be
believed, that ran from Etna, consuming the country, and yet parted itself; making a
kind of a lane for those that ventured to rescue their aged parents.
PETT, "Exodus 14:21
‘And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh caused the sea to go
back by means of a strong east wind all the night, and he made the sea dry land and
the waters were divided.’
But while the confident Egyptians waited God was at work. Moses stretched out his
hand over the sea, seemingly during the night, and a strong east wind arose and
caused the waters to recede. It is stressed that this was the work of Yahweh. This
phenomenon has to a lesser extent been witnessed in this area even in modern times.
The major miracle was the timing of the event and its magnitude.
“Made the sea dry land.” That is, land from which the water had gone. It would still
be muddy which would work to their advantage.
22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry
ground, with a wall of water on their right and on
their left.

138. BAR ES, "Were a wall unto them - Compare Nah_3:8. The waters served the
purpose of an intrenchment and wall; the people could not be attacked on either flank
during the transit; to the north was the water covering the whole district; to the south
was the Red Sea.
CLARKE, "And the waters were a wall unto them on their right and on
their left - This verse demonstrates that the passage was miraculous. Some have
supposed that the Israelites had passed through, favored by an extraordinary ebb, which
happened at that time to be produced by a strong wind, which happened just then to
blow! Had this been the case, there could not have been waters standing on the right
hand and on the left; much less could those waters, contrary to every law of fluids, have
stood as a wall on either side while the Israelites passed through, and then happen to
become obedient to the laws of gravitation when the Egyptians entered in! An infidel
may deny the revelation in toto, and from such we expect nothing better; but to hear
those who profess to believe this to be a Divine revelation endeavoring to prove that the
passage of the Red Sea had nothing miraculous in it, is really intolerable. Such a mode of
interpretation requires a miracle to make itself credible. Poor infidelity! how miserable
and despicable are thy shifts!
GILL, "And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the
dry ground,.... Some Jewish writers say (c), that the tribe of Judah went in first, and
then the other tribes followed; but it is most likely, what Josephus says (d), that Moses
first entered in, and then the Israelites, encouraged by his example, went in after him;
and a very adventurous action it was, and nothing but strong faith in the almighty power
and promise of God could have engaged them in it, to which the apostle ascribes it,
Heb_11:29. It is the opinion of Aben Ezra, and some other Jewish writers, that the
Israelites did not pass through the Red sea to the opposite shore, only went some way
into it, and took a compass in a semicircle, and came out on the same shore again, and
which has been espoused by some Christian writers; and chiefly because they were in the
wilderness of Etham before, and from whence they went into it, and when they came out
of it, it was still the wilderness of Etham they came into, and went three days' journey
into it seeking water; see Exo_13:20. Though it is possible the wilderness on the
opposite shore might bear the same name, because of its likeness to it; and if it was the
same wilderness that went round the Arabic gulf, or Red sea, and reached on to the other
side of it, and so the wilderness of Etham lay on both sides, the difficulty is removed; for
it seems most agreeable to the expressions of Scripture, that the Israelites passed
through it from shore to shore. Others, in order to lessen the miracle, would have it that
Moses, well knowing the country, and observing the tide, took the advantage of low
water, and led the Israelites through it; and this story is told by the Egyptian priests of
Memphis, as Artapanus (e) relates; but were the Egyptians less knowing of their country,
and of the tide of the Red sea? and could Moses be sure of the exact time when they
would come up to him, and the tide would serve him? Besides, the Egyptian priests at
Heliopolis own the miracle, and relate it much as Moses has done; which must proceed
from a conviction of the truth of it. And the above historian reports that the king (of

139. Egypt) with a great army, and consecrated animals, pursued the Jews because of the
substance they had borrowed of the Egyptians, which they took with them; but Moses
being bid by a divine voice (or the voice of God, of Jehovah) to smite the sea with a rod,
and hearkening to it, he touched the water with the rod, and so it divided, and his forces
passed through a dry path, and the Egyptians attempting the same and pursuing, fire or
lightning flashed out against them; and the sea shutting up the path again, partly by fire,
and partly by the flow of the water, they all perished: and that this affair was miraculous,
and could not be owing to any advantage taken from the tide, the following things have
been observed; it is owned that the Red sea ebbs and flows like other seas that have a
communication with the ocean, that is, the waters rise towards the shore during six
hours, and having continued about a quarter of an hour at high water, ebb down again
during another six hours; and it is observed by those who have examined it, that the
greatest distance it falls from the place of high water is about three hundred yards; and
that during the time of low water, one may safely travel it, as some have actually done; so
that those three hundred paces, which the sea leaves uncovered during the time of low
water, can continue so but for the space of half an hour at most; for during the first six
hours, the sea retires only by degrees, and in less than half an hour it begins again to
flow towards the shore. The most therefore that can be allowed, both of time and space
of passable ground, in a moderate computation, is about two hundred paces, during six
hours, or one hundred and fifty paces, during eight hours. Now it is further observed,
that it is plain that a multitude consisting of upwards of two millions and a half of men,
women, children, and slaves, encumbered besides with great quantities of cattle,
household stuff, and the spoils of the Egyptians, could never perform such a march
within so short a time; we may say within even double that space, though we should
allow them also double the breadth of ground to do it on. This argument, it is added, will
hold good against those who suppose they only coasted along some part of the sea, and
those who maintain that they crossed the small arm or point of it which is toward the
further end, near the isthmus of Suez; seeing that six or eight hours could not have
sufficed for the passage of so immense a multitude, allow them what breadth of room
you will; much less for Pharaoh to have entered it with his whole host (f): and for the
confirmation of the Mosaic account of this affair, and as miraculous, may be observed
the testimony of Diodorus Siculus, who reports (g) that it is a tradition among the
Ichthyophagi, who inhabit near the Red sea, or Arabic gulf, which they have received
from the report of their ancestors, and is still preserved with them, that upon a great
recess of the sea, every place of the gulf became dry, the sea falling to the opposite parts,
the bottom appeared green, and returning back with a mighty force, was restored to its
place again; which can have reference to nothing else but to this transaction in the time
of Moses. And Strabo (h) relates a very wonderful thing, and such as rarely happens, that
on the shore between Tyre and Ptolemais, when they of Ptolemais had a battle with the
Emperor Sarpedon at that place, and there being put to flight, a flow of the sea like an
inundation covered those that fled, and some were carried into the sea and perished, and
others were left dead in hollow places; after a reflux followed, and discovered and
showed the bodies of those that lay among the dead fishes. Now learned men have
observed (i), that what is here said of the sea of Tyre is to be understood of the Red sea,
and that Sarpedon is not a proper name, but the same with ‫פדון‬ ‫,שר‬ "Sarphadon", the
prince of deliverance, or of the delivered, as Moses was:
and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left;

140. some of the Jewish Rabbins from Exo_15:8 have supposed that the waters were frozen
as they were drove back by the east wind, and so stood up firm while the Israelites
passed through, and then another wind thawed them, which brought them upon the
Egyptians; but no doubt this was done by the wonderful interposition of divine power,
and perhaps the ministry of angels was made use of, to detain and continue them in this
position, until the end was answered. Adrichomius says (k), the breadth of the sea was
six miles at the passage of the Israelites; but a late traveller (l) tells us, that the channel
between Sdur (or Shur, on the opposite side) and Gibbel Gewoubee, and Attackah
(which he supposes was the place of their passage), was nine or ten miles over. Thevenot
says (m), that during the space of five days he kept along the coast of the Red sea, in
going to Mount Sinai, he could not observe it to be anywhere above eight or nine miles
over. A later traveller (n) tells us, that from the fountains of Moses may be plainly seen a
wonderful aperture (Pihahiroth; see Exo_14:2) in the mountains on the other side of the
Red sea, through and from which the children of Israel entered into it, when Pharaoh
and his host were drowned; which aperture is situated west-southwest from these
fountains of Moses, and the breadth of the sea hereabouts, where the children of Israel
passed it, is about four or five hours' journey. The Arabic geographer (o) calls the place
Jethren, where Pharaoh and his host were drowned; and represents it as a dangerous
place to sail in, and where many ships are lost, and that this rough place is about the
space of six miles. A countryman (p) of ours, who had been in these parts, guesses that
the breadth of the place (called by the Mahometans, Kilt el Pharown, the well or pit of
Pharaoh) where the Israelites are said to pass through is about six or seven leagues; the
difference between these writers may be accounted for by the different places where they
suppose this passage was.
HE RY, " An instance of his wonderful favour to his Israel. They went through the
sea to the opposite shore, for I cannot suppose, with some, that they fetched a compass,
and came out again on the same side, Exo_14:22. They walked upon dry land in the
midst of the sea, Exo_14:29. And the pillar of cloud, that glory of the Lord, being their
rearward (Isa_58:8), that the Egyptians might not charge them in the flank, the waters
were a wall to them (it is twice mentioned) on their right hand and on their left. Moses
and Aaron, it is probable, ventured first into this untrodden path, and then all Israel
after them; and this march through the paths of the great waters would make their
march afterwards, through the wilderness, less formidable. Those who had followed God
through the sea needed not to fear following him whithersoever he led them. This march
through the sea was in the night, and not a moon-shiny night, for it was seven days after
the full moon, so that they had no light but what they had from the pillar of cloud and
fire. This made it the more awful; but where God leads us he will light us; while we
follow his conduct, we shall not want his comforts.
This was done, and recorded, in order to encourage God's people in all ages to trust in
him in the greatest straits. What cannot he do who did this? What will not he do for
those hat fear and love him who did this for these murmuring unbelieving Israelis, who
yet were beloved for their fathers' sake, and for the sake of a remnant among them? We
find the saints, long afterwards, making themselves sharers in the triumphs of this
march (Psa_66:6): They went through the flood on foot; there did we rejoice in him:
and see how this work of wonder is improved, Psa_77:11, Psa_77:16, Psa_77:19.
JAMISO , "the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea, etc. — It is
highly probable that Moses, along with Aaron, first planted his footsteps on the
untrodden sand, encouraging the people to follow him without fear of the treacherous

141. walls; and when we take into account the multitudes that followed him, the immense
number who through infancy and old age were incapable of hastening their movements,
together with all the appurtenances of the camp, the strong and steadfast character of
the leaders’ faith was strikingly manifested (Jos_2:10; Jos_4:23; Psa_66:6; Psa_74:13;
Psa_106:9; Psa_136:13; Isa_63:11-13; 1Co_10:1; Heb_11:29).
COKE, "Exodus 14:22. The waters were a wall—on their right hand, and on their
left— A lively tradition of this passage of the Israelites through the Red-sea, has
been preserved in many writers: and Diodorus, the master of St. Chrysostom, has
amply refuted all those objections against the real passage of the Israelites, which we
have but barely hinted at; thinking an attention to the text, and a true exposition of
it, the best and most satisfactory confutation.
ELLICOTT, "(22) The waters were a wall unto them.—Any protection is in
Scripture called “a wall,” or “a rampart” (1 Samuel 25:16; Proverbs 18:11; Isaiah
26:1; Jeremiah 1:18; ahum 3:8). In the present case, the waters protected Israel on
either flank—the Red Sea upon the right, the Bitter Lakes upon the left. Poetical
writers, as was natural, used language still more highly metaphorical (Psalms 78:13;
Exodus 15:8), and spoke of the waters as “standing on an heap.” Hence, some
moderns have gone so far as to maintain that on this occasion the water “gave up its
nature, formed with its waves a strong wall, and instead of streaming like a fluid,
congealed into a hard substance” (Kalisch). But this is to turn poetry into prose, and
enslave oneself to a narrow literalism.
TRAPP, "Exodus 14:22 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.
Ver. 22. Were a wall unto them.] Every main affliction is our Red Sea, saith one,
which, while it threats to swallow, preserves us.
PETT, "Exodus 14:22
‘And the children of Israel went into the middle of the sea on the dry ground, and
the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.’
Overemphasis on this statement has caused all kinds of vivid but irrelevant pictures.
The words are metaphorical not literal. We are not to see the sea as rising in two
walls, but simply as acting as protecting barriers on both sides (compare 1 Samuel
25:16; Jeremiah 1:18), so that they knew that they could only be attacked from the
rear. Furthermore there is a deliberate contrast between what the sea meant to them
and what it meant to the Egyptians, for one side it was a protecting wall, for the
other a means of destruction (Exodus 14:28-29).
As the children of Israel with their herds and flocks trudged during the night
through the passageway made in the waters we can imagine the effect on the ground

142. newly bereft of water. And there would undoubtedly be many grumbles. If only they
had been led another way, and could have avoided all this mud. By the time they
had passed through it would have been a sea of mud. How they hated that mud.
23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all
Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen
followed them into the sea.
GILL, "And the Egyptians pursued,.... The Israelites going forwards towards the
sea as they were ordered, and going into it:
and went in after them into the midst of the sea; which if fearful of, they might
conclude it was as safe for them to go in as for the Israelites; but perhaps through the
darkness of the night, and the eagerness of their pursuit, they might not perceive where
they were, nor the danger they were exposed unto:
even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen: which is observed to
show, that as all that did go in perished, not one was saved, as after related, so all he
brought with him, the whole of his army, went in, so that all that went out of Egypt were
destroyed.
HE RY 23-28, " An instance of his just and righteous wrath upon his and his
people's enemies, the Egyptians. Observe here, 1. How they were infatuated. In the heat
of their pursuit, they went after the Israelites into the midst of the sea, Exo_14:23.
“Why,” thought they, “may not we venture where Israel did?” Once or twice the
magicians of Egypt had done what Moses did, with their enchantments; Pharaoh
remembered this, but forgot how they were nonplussed at last. They were more
advantageously provided with chariots and horses, while the Israelites were on foot.
Pharaoh had said, I know not the Lord; and by this it appeared he did not, else he would
not have ventured thus. None so bold as those that are blind. Rage against Israel made
them thus daring and inconsiderate: they had long hardened their own hearts; and now
God hardened them to their ruin, and hid from their eyes the things that belonged to
their peace and safety. Surely in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird (Pro_
1:17); yet so blind where the Egyptians that they hastened to the snare, Pro_7:23. Note,
The ruin of sinners is brought on by their own presumption, which hurries them
headlong into the pit. They are self-destroyers. 2. How they were troubled and
perplexed, Exo_14:24, Exo_14:25. For some hours they marched through the divided
waters as safely and triumphantly as Israel did, not doubting but, that, in a little time,

143. they should gain their point. But, in the morning watch, the Lord looked upon the host
of the Egyptians, and troubled them. Something or other they saw or heard from the
pillar of cloud and fire which put them into great consternation, and gave them an
apprehension of their ruin before it was brought upon them. Now it appeared that the
triumphing of the wicked is short, and that God has ways to frighten sinners into
despair, before he plunges them into destruction. He cuts off the spirit of princes, and is
terrible to the kings of the earth. (1.) They had hectored and boasted as if the day were
their own; but now they were troubled and dismayed, struck with a panic-fear. (2.) They
had driven furiously; but now they drove heavily, and found themselves plugged and
embarrassed at every step; the way grew deep, their hearts grew sad, their wheels
dropped off, and the axle-trees failed. Thus can God check the violence of those that are
in pursuit of his people. (3.) They had been flying upon the back of Israel, as the hawk
upon the trembling dove; but now they cried, Let us flee from the face of Israel, which
had become to them like a torch of fire in a sheaf, Zec_12:6. Israel has now, all of a
sudden, become as much a terror to them as they had been to Israel. They might have let
Israel alone and would not; now they would flee from the face of Israel and cannot. Men
will not be convinced, till it is too late, that those who meddle with God's people meddle
to their own hurt; when the Lord shall come with ten thousands of his saints, to execute
judgment, the mighty men will in vain seek to shelter themselves under rocks and
mountains from the face of Israel and Israel's King, Rev_6:15. Compare with this story,
Job_27:20, etc. 3. How they were all drowned. As soon as ever the children of Israel had
got safely to the shore, Moses was ordered to stretch out his hand over the sea, and
thereby give a signal to the waters to close again, as before, upon he word of command,
they had opened to the right and the left, Exo_14:29. He did so, and immediately the
waters returned to their place, and overwhelmed all the host of the Egyptians, Exo_
14:27, Exo_14:28. Pharaoh and his servants, who had hardened one another in sin, now
fell together, and not one escaped. An ancient tradition says that Pharaoh's magicians,
Jannes and Jambres, perished with the rest, as Balaam with the Midianites whom he
had seduced, Num_31:8. And now, (1.) God avenged upon the Egyptians the blood of the
firstborn whom they had drowned: and the principal is repaid with interest, it is
recompensed double, full-grown Egyptians for newborn Israelites; thus the Lord is
righteous, and precious is his people's blood in his sight, Psa_72:14. (2.) God reckoned
with Pharaoh for all his proud and insolent conduct towards Moses his ambassador.
Mocking the messengers of the Lord, and playing the fool with them, bring ruin without
remedy. Now God got him honour upon Pharaoh, looking upon that proud man, and
abasing him, Job_40:12. Come and see the desolations he made, and write it, not in
water, but with an iron pen in the rock for ever. Here lies that bloody tyrant who bade
defiance to his Maker, to his demands, threatenings, and judgments; a rebel to God, and
a slave to his own barbarous passions; perfectly lost to humanity, virtue, and all true
honour; here he lies, buried in the deep, a perpetual monument of divine justice. Here he
went down to the pit, though he was the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, Eze_31:18.
JAMISO , "the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of
the sea — From the darkness caused by the intercepting cloud, it is probable that they
were not aware on what ground they were driving: they heard the sound of the fugitives
before them, and they pushed on with the fury of the avengers of blood, without
dreaming that they were on the bared bed of the sea.

144. BE SO , "Exodus 14:23. And the Egyptians went in after them into the midst of
the sea — They thought, Why might they not venture where Israel did? They were
more advantageously provided with chariots and horses, while the Israelites were on
foot.
ELLICOTT, "(23) All Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.—The
chariot and cavalry force alone entered the sea, not the infantry. (Comp, Exodus
14:28 and Exodus 15:1.) The point is of importance as connected with the question
whether the Pharaoh himself perished. If all his force entered, he could not well
have stayed behind; if only a portion, he might have elected to remain with the
others. Menephthah, the probable Pharaoh of the Exodus, was apt to consult his
own safety. (Records of the Past, vol. iv., pp. 44-45.)
ELLICOTT, "Verses 23-28
(23-28) The Egyptians pursued.—All the Israelites having entered the bed of the sea,
the pillar of the cloud, it would seem, withdrew after them, and the Egyptians, who,
if they could not see, could at any rate hear the sound of the departure, began to
advance, following on the track of the fugitives. What they thought concerning the
miracle, or what they expected, it is difficult to say. They can scarcely have entered
on the bed of the sea without knowing it. Probably they assumed that, as the bed
had somehow become dry, it would continue dry long enough for their chariots and
horsemen to get across. The distance may not have been so much as a mile, which
they may have expected to accomplish in ten minutes; but when once they were
entered, their troubles began. “The Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians
through the pillar . . . and troubled the host of the Egyptians” (Exodus 14:24). By
some terrible manifestation of His presence and of His anger, proceeding from the
pillar of the cloud in their front, God threw the Egyptian troops into consternation
and confusion. A panic terror seized them. Some probably stopped, some fled; but
there were others who persevered. Then followed a second difficulty. The progress
of the chariots was obstructed. According to the present reading of the Hebrew text,
the wheels parted from the axles, which would naturally bring the vehicles to a
stand. According to the LXX. and a reading found in the Samaritan Pentateuch, the
wheels “became entangled,” as they would if they sank up to the axles in the soft
ooze. Hereby the advance was rendered slow and difficult: “they drave them
heavily.” To the Egyptians the obstruction seemed more than could be accounted
for by natural causes, and they became convinced that Jehovah was fighting for
Israel and against them (Exodus 14:25). Hereupon they turned and fled. But the
flight was even harder than the advance. A confused mass of horses and chariots
filled the channel—they impeded each other—could make no progress—could
scarcely move. Then came the final catastrophe. At God’s command, Moses once
more stretched his hand over the sea, and the waters returned on either side—a
north-west wind brought back those of the Bitter Lakes (Exodus 14:10), the flood
tide those of the Bed Sea—and the whole of the force that had entered on the sea-
bed in pursuit of the Israelites was destroyed.
TRAPP, "Exodus 14:23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the

145. midst of the sea, [even] all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
Ver. 23. And the Egyptians pursued.] God permitting it, and making fair weather
before them, they also blustering, and "breathing out threatenings," saying, "I will
pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil," &c., till anon "they sank as lead in
the mighty waters." [Exodus 15:9-10]
PETT, "Exodus 14:23
‘And the Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the middle of the sea, all
Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen.’
At first light the Egyptian troops were commanded to go forward. The sight of the
disappearing children of Israel across where the sea had been must have infuriated
and astonished them. But it is noteworthy that it does not say that Pharaoh went in
with them. Had he done so it would surely have been pointed out. Indeed he may not
himself have even taken part in the charge. He would follow on behind, ready to
pick up the glory. Exodus 14:8; Exodus 14:10 may simply be referring to those who
were acting on his command and in his name. We should note that even the poem
written about the event does not suggest that Pharaoh was slain.
“All Pharaoh”s horses, his chariots and his horsemen.’ This is not to be taken too
literally. The point is that they were all commanded forward. Some may not have
had the opportunity to advance too far before disaster struck.
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.
BAR ES, "In the morning watch - At sunrise, a little before 6 a.m.in April.
Troubled - By a sudden panic.
CLARKE, "The morning watch - A watch was the fourth part of the time from
sun-setting to sun-rising; so called from soldiers keeping guard by night, who being
changed four times during the night, the periods came to be called watches. - Dodd.

146. As here and in 1Sa_11:11 is mentioned the morning watch; so in Lam_2:19, the
beginning of the watches; and in Jdg_7:19, the middle watch is spoken of; in Luk_12:38,
the second and third watch; and in Mat_14:25, the fourth watch of the night; which in
Mar_13:35 are named evening, midnight, cock-crowing, and day-dawning - Ainsworth.
As the Israelites went out of Egypt at the vernal equinox, the morning watch, or,
according to the Hebrew, ‫הבקר‬ ‫באשמרת‬ beashmoreth habboker, the watch of day-break,
would answer to our four o’clock in the morning - Calmet.
The Lord looked unto - This probably means that the cloud suddenly assumed a
fiery appearance where it had been dark before; or they were appalled by violent
thunders and lightning, which we are assured by the psalmist did actually take place,
together with great inundations of rain, etc.: The clouds Poured Out Water; the skies
sent out a Sound: thine Arrows also went abroad. The Voice of thy Thunder was in the
heaven; the Lightnings Lightened the world; the earth Trembled and Shook. Thy way is
in the sea, and thy path in the great waters. Thou leddest thy people like a flock, by the
hand of Moses and Aaron; Psa_77:17-20. Such tempests as these would necessarily
terrify the Egyptian horses, and produce general confusion. By their dashing hither and
thither the wheels must be destroyed, and the chariots broken; and foot and horse must
be mingled together in one universal ruin; see Exo_14:25. During the time that this state
of horror and confusion was at its summit the Israelites had safely passed over; and then
Moses, at the command of God, (Exo_14:26), having stretched out his rod over the
waters, the sea returned to its strength; (Exo_14:27); i.e., the waters by their natural
gravity resumed their level, and the whole Egyptian host were completely overwhelmed,
Exo_14:28. But as to the Israelites, the waters had been a wall unto them on the right
hand and on the left, Exo_14:29. This the waters could not have been, unless they had
been supernaturally supported; as their own gravity would necessarily have occasioned
them to have kept their level, or, if raised beyond it, to have regained it if left to their
natural law, to which they are ever subject, unless in cases of miraculous interference.
Thus the enemies of the Lord perished; and that people who decreed that the male
children of the Hebrews should be drowned, were themselves destroyed in the pit which
they had destined for others. God’s ways are all equal; and he renders to every man
according to his works.
GILL, "And it came to pass, that in the morning watch,.... The Romans divided
the night into four watches, so the Hebrews; though some say into three only. The first
began at six o'clock, and lasted till nine, the second was from thence to twelve, the third
from thence to three in the morning, and the last from three to six, which is here called
the morning watch; so that this was some time between three and six o'clock in the
morning:
the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians, through the pillar of fire and
of the cloud; the Angel of the Lord, and who was Jehovah himself, who was in it, he
looked to the army of the Egyptians; not to know whereabout they were, he being the
omniscient God; nor in a friendly manner, but as an enemy, with indignation and wrath.
The Targum of Jonathan is,"he looked through the pillar of fire, to cast upon them coals
of fire, and through the pillar of cloud, to cast upon them hailstones.''The Jerusalem
Targum is,"pitch, fire, and hailstones;''and Josephus (q) speaks of storms and tempests,
of thunder and lightning, and of thunderbolts out of the clouds; and Artapanus (r) of fire
or lightning flashing out against them, by which many perished. Perhaps the psalmist

147. may have reference to this in Psa_106:10.
and troubled the host of the Egyptians; the thunder and lightning no doubt
frightened the horses, so that they broke their ranks, and horsemen and chariots might
run foul on one another, and the hailstones scatter and destroy many; however, the
whole must be terrible and distressing to them, especially it being in the night season.
JAMISO , "Lord looked ... through ... the cloud, and troubled them — We
suppose the fact to have been that the side of the pillar of cloud towards the Egyptians
was suddenly, and for a few moments, illuminated with a blaze of light, which, coming as
it were in a refulgent flash upon the dense darkness which had preceded, so frightened
the horses of the pursuers that they rushed confusedly together and became
unmanageable. “Let us flee,” was the cry that resounded through the broken and
trembling ranks, but it was too late; all attempts at flight were vain [Bush].
CALVI , "24.And it came to pass, that, in the morning-watch. In the morning the
angel began to look upon the Egyptians, not that they had escaped his sight before;
but for the purpose of destroying them by sudden submersion, though he had
seemed previously to forget them, when hidden by the cloud. (157) And first, He
opened their eyes, that too late they might see whither their mad impetuosity had
brought them; and also that they might perceive how they were contending not with
man only, but with God; and that thus, being overwhelmed with sudden
astonishment, they might not be able to escape to the shore in time; for they were on
this account overtaken in the midst of the sea, because terror had thrown them into
utter confusion, when they perceived that God was against them. They saw that
there was no greater hope of safety than to retreat, because God fought for Israel;
but being in complete disorder, they could make no way, and whilst they rather
proved hindrances to each other, the sea ingulfed them all.
BE SO , "Exodus 14:24. The Lord — Called the angel before; looked unto the
host of the Egyptians — He looked upon them in anger, Psalms 104:32. He visited
them with marks of his displeasure, and troubled the Egyptians with terrible winds,
lightnings, and thunders, Exodus 15:10; Psalms 77:18-19; also, with terror of mind.
Through the pillar of fire and of the cloud — It seems not improbable but that,
whereas the cloudy part of the pillar had been toward the Egyptians hitherto, it now
turned the other side toward them, and confounded them with showing them their
situation.
COKE, "Exodus 14:24. In the morning-watch— A watch was a fourth part of the
time from sun-setting to sun-rising; so called, from soldiers keeping guard by night;
who being changed four times during the night, the periods came to be called
watches. See Matthew 14:25. Mark 13:35. Luke 12:38. It was in the morning-watch,
the last of the four, that the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians, through the
pillar of fire and of the cloud. It is difficult to say, what is implied by this look of the
Lord; or how, by means of it, the host of the Egyptians was troubled: it was, no
doubt, a look of anger and displeasure; see Psalms 104:32 but, whether it was

148. attended, as some suppose, with dreadful thunders, lightning, and hailstones, shot
from the cloud, is difficult to determine. Dr. Hammond supposes, that the 77th
psalm, Exodus 14:16-20 refers to this event; and if so, it is a noble exposition of it.
Some render troubled the host, by debilitated the host: but the true meaning of the
word ‫המם‬ hamam, seems to be that which our translation gives; to trouble, or put
into tumult and confusion. It does not appear by the text, that the Egyptians were
sensible that they were entering into the sea; and it is more than probable, that they
were too eager after their pursuit, and had too little light, to perceive the danger
they were running into: unless we should suppose, with Josephus, that, because they
saw the Israelites march safely through the sea, they vainly hoped that they might
do the same; and were not undeceived till it was too late.
EXPOSITOR'S DICTIO ARY, "Exodus 14:24
Compare the dialogue between Helstone and Moore in the third chapter of Shirley,
where in answer to the latter"s cynical remark that "God often defends the
powerful," Helstone cries out: "What! I suppose the handful of Israelites standing
dry-shod on the Asiatic side of the Red Sea, was more powerful than the host of the
Egyptians drawn up on the African side? Were they more numerous? Were they
better appointed? Were they more mighty, in a word—eh? Don"t speak, or you"ll
tell a lie, Moore; you know you will. They were a poor overwrought band of
bondsmen. Tyrants had oppressed them through four hundred years; a feeble
mixture of women and children diluted their thin ranks; their masters, who roared
to follow them through the divided flood, were a set of pampered Ethiops, about as
strong and brutal as the lions of Libya. They were armed, horsed, and charioted, the
poor Hebrew wanderers were afoot; few of them, it is likely, had better weapons
than their shepherds" crooks, or their masons" building-tools; their meek and
mighty leader himself had only his rod. But bethink you, Robert Moore, right was
with them; the God of Battles was on their side. Crime and the lost archangel
generalled the ranks of Pharaoh, and which triumphed? We know that well: "The
Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the
Egyptians dead upon the seashore"; yea, "the depths covered them, they sank to the
bottom as a stone". The right hand of the Lord became glorious in power; the right
hand of the Lord dashed in pieces the enemy!" "You are all right; only you forget
the true parallel: France is Israel, and apoleon is Moses. Europe, with her old
over-gorged empires and rotten dynasties, is corrupt Egypt; gallant France is the
Twelve Tribes, and her fresh and vigorous Usurper the Shepherd of Horeb." "I
scorn to answer you."
TRAPP, "Exodus 14:24 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,
Ver. 24. In the morning watch.] God "watcheth upon the evil to bring it" upon his
enemies then when he may do them a greatest mischief. [Daniel 9:14] He picketh his
times for vengeance: " ow will I rise, saith the Lord; now will I be exalted; now will
I lift up myself." [Isaiah 33:10]

149. The Lord looked unto the host.] He set his eyes upon them; as Paul did upon Elymus
the sorcerer; with highest offence, and utmost indignation. After which lightning
follows that terrible thunderclap, wherewith he troubled them and took off their
wheels. See Psalms 77:18-19; Psalms 18:15.
PETT, "Exodus 14:24-25
‘And so it was that in the morning watch Yahweh looked on the host of the
Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of cloud, and brought confusion among the
host of the Egyptians, and he took off their chariot wheels and made them drive
heavily, so that the Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from the face of Israel, for Yahweh
fights for them against the Egyptians’.
As the Egyptians confidently advanced with their chariots and horsemen in morning
light, probably at the charge, they advanced into disaster. ‘Through the pillar of fire
and of cloud’ may suggest mist and storm, or the direct action of Yahweh revealing
His glory through the mist. Either way they were disoriented. Then the already
churned up ground began to cling to their chariot wheels and many of the wheels
were unable to take the strain and were torn off. Others simply became clogged up
in the mud. The proud elite chariots of Egypt were being rendered useless. If there
were extra horsemen they would do little better, wallowing through the mud,
hindered by the useless chariots, and finding progress impossible. In such conditions
they would recognise that they would be an easy prey for the enemy. Their easy
victory was turning into a catastrophe.
There could only be one result. They recognised that their position was hopeless and
determined to turn back. Indeed they saw in it the hand of the fearsome God of the
Hebrews. They now recognised that it was He they had to face. It was He Who had
done this. And as ever He was against the Egyptians. They had come to ‘know that
He was Yahweh’, the God Who is there and acts. And they were afraid.
“The morning watch.” The first period of light.
“Through the pillar of fire and cloud.” The personal presence of Yahweh is being
emphasised. He not only saw, He was there.
“Israel”. As always the Egyptian terminology for the children of Israel.
25 He jammed[b] the wheels of their chariots so
that they had difficulty driving. And the

150. Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the
Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against
Egypt.”
GILL, "And took off their chariot wheels,.... The Targum of Jonathan renders it
"cut" or "sawed them off"; perhaps they might be broken off by the hailstones. Milton (s)
seems to have a notion of Pharaoh's chariot wheels being broken, when he says, "and
craze" (i.e. break) "their chariot wheels"; or, as Jarchi suggests, he burnt them, through
the force of the fire or lightning:
that they drave them heavily; the wheels being off, the chariots must be dragged
along by the horses by mere force, which must be heavy work; or, "and made them to go,
or led them heavily", or "with heaviness" (t); and so to be ascribed to the Lord, who
looked at the Egyptians, took off the wheels of their chariots, and stopped them in the
fury of their career, that they could not pursue with the swiftness they had:
so that the Egyptians said, let us flee from the face of Israel; for by this battery
and flashes of fire on them, they concluded that Israel, who they thought were fleeing
before them, had turned and were facing them, and the Lord at the head of them; and
therefore it was high time for them to flee, as follows:
for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians; for they rightly took the
thunder and lightning, the fire and hailstones, to be the artillery of heaven turned
against them, and in favour of the Israelites. Jarchi interprets it, the Lord fights for them
in Egypt, even in Egypt itself; but so he had done many a time before, of which they were
not insensible.
K&D, "“And (Jehovah) made the wheels of his (the Egyptian's) chariots give way,
and made, that he (the Egyptian) drove in difficulty.” ‫ג‬ ַ‫ה‬ָ‫נ‬ ”.ytlucif to drive a chariot (2Sa_
6:3, cf. 2Ki_9:20).
BE SO , "Exodus 14:25. They drave heavily — They had driven furiously, but
they now found themselves embarrassed at every step; the way grew deep, their
hearts grew sad, their wheels dropped off, and the axle-trees failed. They had been
flying upon the back of Israel as the hawk on the dove; but now they cried, Let us
flee from the face of Israel.
COKE, "Exodus 14:25. And took off their chariot-wheels— Houbigant renders this,
irretivit, seu ligavit rotas curruum: he entangled, or bound the wheels of the
chariots; which making them to drive more heavily, the Egyptians said, &c. The

151. Egyptian host, it is to be remembered, consisted only of chariots and cavalry, which
might find great difficulty in passing through this channel, where the children of
Israel, who were all on foot, found none; for, naturalists of the first authority
unanimously testify, that this gulph has an extremely foul and clayey bottom,
abounding with aquatic plants and shrubs, and, in many places, with extremely
rugged rocks; all of which, easily passable by footmen, might very much incommode
chariots and cavalry, embarrass and entangle them, and indeed render their passage
impracticable: therefore, though it may be truly said that the Lord entangled their
chariot-wheels, yet we may well suppose, that nature here fought with its Great
Master against the unwise; and that second causes concurred with the immediate
agency of GOD. See Genesis 11:7. The Egyptians seem to have considered this as the
immediate operation of Jehovah: they said, let us flee,—for Jehovah (as it should
constantly be rendered,) fighteth for them.
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.”
BAR ES, "That the waters may come - A sudden cessation of the wind, possibly
coinciding with a spring tide (it was full moon) would immediately convert the low flat
sand-banks first into a quicksand, and then into a mass of waters, in a time far less than
would suffice for the escape of a single chariot, or horseman loaded with heavy corslet.
GILL, "And the Lord said unto Moses,.... Out of the pillar of fire and of the cloud,
when the Egyptians were in all the confusion before described, and about to make the
best of their way back again:
Stretch out thine hand over the sea; with his rod in it, by which all the wonders
were wrought, and particularly by which the sea had been divided, and now it must be
used to a different purpose:
that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots,

152. and upon their horsemen; the waters which stood upright as a wall, on the right and
left, might be no longer kept in such a position, but fall down upon the Egyptians, their
chariots and horsemen, being higher than they.
K&D 26-29, "Then God directed Moses to stretch out his staff again over the sea, and
the sea came back with the turning of the morning (when the morning turned, or
approached) to its position (‫ן‬ ָ‫ית‬ ֵ‫א‬ perennitas, the lasting or permanent position), and the
Egyptians were flying to meet it. “When the east wind which divided the sea ceased to
blow, the sea from the north and south began to flow together on the western side;”
whereupon, to judge from Exo_15:10, the wind began immediately to blow from the
west, and drove the waves in the face of the flying Egyptians. “And thus Jehovah shook
the Egyptians (i.e., plunged them into the greatest confusion) in the midst of the sea,” so
that Pharaoh's chariots and horsemen, to the very last man, were buried in the waves.
CALVI , "26.And the Lord said unto Moses. Moses here relates how the sea, in
destroying the Egyptians, had no less obeyed God’s command than when it lately
afforded a passage for His people, for it. was by the uplifting of the rod of Moses
that the waters came again into their place, as they had been before gathered into
heaps. The Egyptians now repented of their precipitate madness, and determined, as
conquered by God’s power, to leave the children of Israel, and to return home; but
God, who willed their destruction, shut up the way of escape at this very crisis. But,
that we may know how evident a miracle was here, Moses now adds the
circumstance of time, for he says that the morning then appeared, so that the broad
daylight might show the whole transaction to the eyes of the spectators. The waters,
indeed, were heaped up in the night; but the pillar of fire, which shone on the
Egyptians, and pointed out their way, did not allow God’s blessing to be hidden
from them. The case of the Egyptians was otherwise: therefore it behooved that they
should perish by day, and that the sun itself should render their destruction visible.
This also tends to prove God’s power, because, whilst they were endeavoring to fly,
He openly urged them on, as if they were intentionally drowning themselves.
BE SO , "Exodus 14:26. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thy hand over
the sea — And give a signal to the waters to close again, as before upon the word of
command they had opened to the right and the left. He did so, and immediately the
waters returned to their place, and overwhelmed all the host of the Egyptians.
Pharaoh and his servants, that had hardened one another in sin, now fell together,
and not one escaped. An ancient tradition saith, that Pharaoh’s magicians, Jannes
and Jambres, perished with the rest. ow God got him honour upon Pharaoh, a
rebel to God, and a slave to his own barbarous passions; perfectly lost to humanity,
virtue, and all true honour; here he lies buried in the deep, a perpetual monument
of divine justice: here he went down to the pit, though he was the terror of the
mighty in the land of the living.
CO STABLE, "Verses 26-31
This miraculous deliverance produced fear (reverential trust) in Yahweh among the

153. Israelites ( Exodus 14:31). Their confidence in Moses as well as in God revived (cf.
Exodus 14:10-12).
". . . whenever confidence in Moses increases, as here and at Sinai, it is because of
an action of Yahweh." [ ote: Durham, p197.]
"In view of the importance of the concept of faith and trust in God for the writer of
the Pentateuch, we should take a long look at these verses. Just as Abraham believed
God and was counted righteous ( Genesis 15:6), so the Israelites, under the
leadership of Moses, also believed God. It seems reasonable that the writer would
have us conclude here in the wilderness the people of God were living a righteous
life of faith, like Abraham. As they headed toward Sinai, their trust was in the God
of Abraham who had done great deeds for them. It is only natural, and certainly in
line with the argument of the book, that they would break out into a song of praise
in the next chapter. On the negative side, however, we should not lose sight of the
fact that these same people would forget only too quickly the great work of God,
make a golden calf ( Psalm 106:11-13), and thus forsake the God about whom they
were now singing." [ ote: Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., p270.]
"Here [ Exodus 14:31] the title of "servant" is given to Moses. This is the highest
title a mortal can have in the OT-the "servant of Yahweh." It signifies more than a
believer; it describes the individual as acting on behalf of God. For example, when
Moses stretched out his hand, God used it as his own ( Isaiah 63:12). Moses was
God"s personal representative." [ ote: The ET Bible note on14:31.]
Many critics who have sought to explain away God"s supernatural deliverance of
Israel have attacked this story. They have tried by various explanations to account
for what happened in natural terms exclusively. It is obvious from this chapter,
however, that regardless of where the crossing took place enough water was present
to drown the army of Egyptians that pursued Israel ( Exodus 14:28). Immediately
after this deliverance, the Israelites regarded their salvation as supernatural (
Exodus 15:1-21), and they continued to do so for generations (e.g, Psalm 106:7-8).
The people of Canaan heard about and believed in this miraculous deliverance, and
it terrified them ( Joshua 2:9-10; Joshua 9:9). The critic"s problem may be moral
rather than intellectual. Some of the critics do not want to deal with the implications
of there being supernatural phenomena so they try to explain them away. The text
clearly presents a supernatural deliverance and even states that God acted as He did
to prove His supernatural power ( Exodus 14:4; Exodus 14:18).
"From the start of the Exodus , it becomes clear, Yahweh has orchestrated the
entire sequence." [ ote: Durham, p198.]
The Lord finished the Israelites" liberation when He destroyed the Egyptian army.
The Israelites" slavery ended when they left Egypt, but they began to experience
true freedom after they crossed the Red Sea. The ten plagues had broken Pharaoh"s
hold on the Israelites, but the Red Sea deliverance removed them from his reach
forever. God redeemed Israel on the Passover night, but He liberated Israel from

154. slavery finally at the Red Sea. [ ote: See William D. Ramey, "The Great Escape (
Exodus 14)," Exegesis and Exposition1:1 (Fall1986):33-42.] In Christian experience
these two works of God, redemption and liberation, occur at the same time; they are
two aspects of salvation.
PETT, "Exodus 14:26-27
‘And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea that the waters
may come again on the Egyptians, and on their chariots and on their horsemen.”
And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strong
flow when the morning appeared, and the Egyptians fled against it, and Yahweh
overthrew the Egyptians in the middle of the sea.’
But further disaster awaited the Egyptian forces. For at Yahweh’s command Moses
lifted up his hand, containing the staff of God (Exodus 14:16 with Exodus 14:21),
over the sea, and the full flow of the waters returned in strength, and as the
Egyptians struggled to free themselves from the mud and flee they ran into the
returning waters and found them a barrier to them (‘against the waters’).
27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and
at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The
Egyptians were fleeing toward[c] it, and the Lord
swept them into the sea.
BAR ES, "Overthrew the Egyptians - Better as in the margin, The Lord shook
them off, hurled them from their chariots into the sea.
GILL, "And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea,.... Or towards it, as he
was ordered, the rod being in his hand, as before observed:
and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; being no
longer detained by a superior power, contrary to the nature of it, to stand still as an
heap, and firm as a wall, its waves came down and rolled with their usual force and
strength, or it returned to its usual course:
at the appearance of the morning in its strength; when the morning looked forth
in its first light and brightness, when it was broad day:

155. and the Egyptians fled against it; against the waves that came rolling down upon
them: or "at meeting it" (u), for as they turned their backs on the Israelites and fled, the
waters of the sea met them, as well as fell on each side of them, or rather over them, and
followed after them, and closed and shut them up on all sides; so that it was in vain for
them to flee, for let them go which way they would, the sea was against them:
and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea; or shook them
"off" or "out" (w); out of their chariots, blew them out with the wind; for as there was a
wind made use of to divide the waters of the sea, and make the bottom of it dry, there
was another to cause the waters to return to their former place; see Exo_15:10 or the
waves of the sea dashed them out of their chariots, or through the force of them they
were overturned in it.
JAMISO , "Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, etc. — What
circumstances could more clearly demonstrate the miraculous character of this
transaction than that at the waving of Moses’ rod, the dividing waters left the channel
dry, and on his making the same motion on the opposite side, they returned,
commingling with instantaneous fury? Is such the character of any ebb tide?
BE SO , "Exodus 14:27. The sea returned to its strength — Its force had, as it
were, been checked and held back by the reins of the divine power; but now full
scope is given to its impetuous rage. The expression implies that the sea returned not
leisurely, as in ordinary tides, but rushed upon them precipitately.
COKE, "Exodus 14:27. And Moses stretched forth his hand, &c.— The Israelites
having been safely landed on the opposite shore, the words of Moses, Exodus 14:13
were now about to be fulfilled; the terrible moment of destruction being arrived to
the Egyptians. The Lord gave the command: Moses stretched forth his hand, and
the sea returned to his strength. The expression seems to import, that the sea, whose
waves had been miraculously suspended by the power of Jehovah, now returned to
its usual force; and, with its wonted violence, rushed impetuously, a strong wind
urging it on (ch. Exodus 15:10.) to overwhelm the devoted Egyptians. God had made
use of the agency of a wind to suspend the waters; and now he uses the same
instrument to urge them with more precipitancy, and to give more terror to the
scene; winds and waves uniting to fulfil his awful commands.
EXPOSITOR'S DICTIO ARY, "Exodus 14:27
apoleon, when at Suez, made an attempt to follow the supposed steps of Moses by
passing the creek at this point; but it seems, according to the testimony of the people
of Suez, that he and his horsemen managed the matter in a way more resembling the
failure of the Egyptians than the success of the Israelites. According to the French
account, apoleon got out of the difficulty by that warrior-like presence of mind
which served him so well when the fate of nations depended on the decision of a
moment; he commanded his horsemen to disperse in all directions, in order to
multiply the chances of finding shallow water, and was thus enabled to discover a

156. line by which he and his people were extricated. The story told by the people of Suez
is very different; they declare that apoleon parted from his horse, got water-logged
and nearly drowned, and was only fished out by the aid of the people on shore.
—Kinglake, Eothen, chap. XXII.
ELLICOTT, "(27) When the morning appeared.—This would be about five o’clock.
The light showed the Egyptian their danger. The white-crested waves were seen
advancing on either side, and threatening to fill up the channel. The Egyptians had
to race against them; but in vain. Their chariot wheels clogged, themselves and their
horses encumbered with heavy armour, they made but slow way over the soft and
slimy ground; and while they were still far from shore, the floods were upon them,
and overwhelmed them. In this way God “overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of
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. ot one of them survived.
BAR ES, "Not so much as one of them - Escape would be impossible Exo_
14:26. Pharaoh’s destruction, independent of the distinct statement of the Psalmist,
Psa_136:15, was in fact inevitable. The station of the king was in the vanguard: on every
monument the Pharaoh is represented as the leader of the army. The death of the
Pharaoh, and the entire loss of the chariotry and cavalry accounts for the undisturbed
retreat of the Israelites through a district then subject to Egypt and easily accessible to
their forces. If, as appears probable, Tothmosis II was the Pharaoh, the first recorded
expedition into the Peninsula took place 17 years after his death; and 22 years elapsed
before any measures were taken to recover the lost ascendancy of Egypt in Syria. So
complete, so marvelous was the deliverance: thus the Israelites were “baptized unto
Moses in the cloud and in the sea” 1Co_10:2. When they left Baal-Zephon they were
separated finally from the idolatry of Egypt: when they passed the Red Sea their
independence of its power was sealed; their life as a nation then began, a life inseparable
henceforth from belief in Yahweh and His servant Moses, only to be merged in the
higher life revealed by His Son.

157. CLARKE, "There remained not so much as one of them - Josephus says that
the army of Pharaoh consisted of fifty thousand horse, and two hundred thousand foot,
of whom not one remained to carry tidings of this most extraordinary catastrophe.
GILL, "And the waters returned,.... To their place, and so in the above tradition
related by Diodorus Siculus, it is said that the sea returning with a mighty force was
restored to its place again; See Gill on Exo_14:22.
and covered the chariots and the horsemen; the wall they made being much
higher than a man on horseback, when they fell down, covered even those who had the
advantage of horses and chariots; and much more must the infantry be covered by them,
who may be meant in the next clause:
and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; the foot, that
went into the sea after the chariots and horsemen, or the whole army, including the
cavalry and infantry, which went into the sea after the children of Israel. Who this
Pharaoh was is not agreed; according to Berosus (x) his name was Cenchres, or
Chenchres, whom Acherres succeeded; according to Bishop Usher (y) it was Amenophis;
but our English poet (z) calls him Busiris; though Strabo (a) says there was no king or
governor of that name. Diodorus Siculus (b) indeed speaks of two so called; yet he
elsewhere (c) says, not that there was any king of the name, only the sepulchre of Osiris
was so called:
there remained not so much as one of them; wherefore it must be a falsehood
which is related by some, that Pharaoh himself was preserved, and afterwards reigned in
Nineveh (d), since not one was saved; see Psa_106:11 and so Artapanus (e) the Heathen
says, they all perished, and among these are said (f) to be Jannes and Jambres, the
magicians of Egypt mentioned in 2Ti_3:8 but this is contradicted by those (g) who
ascribe the making of the golden calf to them.
JAMISO , "there remained not so much as one of them — It is surprising
that, with such a declaration, some intelligent writers can maintain there is no evidence
of the destruction of Pharaoh himself (Psa_106:11).
CALVI , "28.And the waters returned. In these two verses also Moses continues
the same relation. It plainly appears from Josephus and Eusebius what silly tales
Manetho (158) and others have invented about the Exodus of the people; for
although Satan has attempted by their falsehoods to overshadow the truth of sacred
history, so foolish and trifling are their accounts that they need not refutation. The
time itself, which they indicate, sufficiently convicts them of ignorance. But God has
admirably provided for our sakes, in choosing Moses His servant, who was the
minister of their deliverance, to be also the witness and historian of it; and this, too,
amongst those who had seen all with their own eyes, and who, in their peculiar
frowardness, would never have suffered one, who was so severe a reprover of them,

158. to make any false statements of fact. Since, then, his authority is sure and
unquestionable, let us only observe what his method was, viz., briefly to relate in
this place how there was not one left of Pharaoh’s mighty army; that the Israelites
all to a man passed over in safety and dry-shod; that, by the rod of Moses, the
nature of the waters was changed, so that they stood like solid walls; that by the
same rod they were afterwards made liquid, so as suddenly to overwhelm the
Egyptians. This enumeration plainly shows an extraordinary work of God to have
been here, for as to the trifling of certain profane writers (159) about the ebb and
flow of the Arabian Gulf, it falls to nothing of itself. From these things, therefore, he
at last justly infers, that the Israelites had seen the powerful hand of God then and
there exerted.
COFFMA ,"Verses 26-31
PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA
(ACCOMPLISHED)
"And Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch out thy 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 its strength
when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and Jehovah
overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and
covered the chariots, and the horsemen, even all the host of Pharaoh that went in
after them into the sea; there remained not so much as one of them. 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 Jehovah saved Israel that day
out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-
shore. And Israel saw the great work which Jehovah did upon the Egyptians, and
the people feared Jehovah: and they believed in Jehovah, and in his servant Moses."
The alleged moral problem. How could God have destroyed mercilessly such a great
host of people? Is this consistent with the revelation of God which has come to us
through the Lord Jesus Christ? The answer is certainly YES. The current notion,
held by many, that Almighty God will eternally overlook and tolerate human
wickedness, cruelty, oppression, and violence is OT a true understanding of God.
God is angry with the wicked every day, and there is sure to come a time when God
in righteous wrath shall rise and cast evil out of His universe. As for those "poor
Egyptians," think of the mission upon which they were engaged. Every one of them
was armed with military weapons. They were intent on killing whatever thousands
or hundreds of thousands of Israel that they might have found necessary to their
purpose of returning all of them to work perpetually in the brickyards of Egypt as
slaves! We have no respect at all for the silly quibble that it was immoral for God to
have destroyed the Egyptian death squad in the very act of their ruthless mission. If
one wishes to discover "immorality" somewhere, it is in such thoughts that question
the righteousness of God.
Most of the specifics in this paragraph have already been noted in the comments

159. above, and what we have here is somewhat a recapitulation and summary of the
mighty act of Jehovah. The result is stated in Exodus 14:31, where faith in God and
in his servant Moses was established in Israel. It is a sorrow that this faith did not
continue unabated. Wherever and whenever the occasion came, Israel always
seemed ready to murmur and complain.
"The horsemen ..." (Exodus 14:26). The text requires that these be understood, not
as mounted cavalry, but as drivers of the chariot horses.[20]
"The Hebrew text is remarkably in accordance with the native monuments of the
time, which represent the army of Pharaoh as composed of only two descriptions of
troops, a chariot, and an infantry force."[21]
"The sea returned to its strength ..." This clearly means that the portion of the sea
crossed by Israel was normally of sufficient depth to cover completely an entire
division of chariots, horses, drivers, riders and all. The picture here is not of some
marsh covered with reeds, or of some type of shallow swamp, but of a body of water
called a "sea" 17 times in the 31 verses of this chapter!
"There remained not so much as one of them ..." This loss by Pharaoh of the entire
striking force of his army, the chariot divisions, alone accounts for the fact that,
"Israel enjoyed an undisturbed retreat through a district then subject to Egypt and
easily accessible to their forces (if they had had any!).[22] During the whole period
of the forty years in the wilderness, no Egyptian offered one breath of opposition to
Israel.
Did Pharaoh himself perish in this disaster? We believe that he did. (See the notes
above.) Of course, this is disputed on the basis of its not being specifically mentioned
in this summary, and also upon the basis of there having been found no reference to
any such death of a Pharaoh on any of the ancient monuments thus far discovered.
However, it is a naive and foolish supposition that any Egyptian government would
have memorialized a fiasco like Pharaoh's Red Sea adventure on a public
monument. Until the U.S.A. erects a monument to Benedict Arnold, it would seem
impossible to expect such a thing. The death of Pharaoh in the Red Sea can neither
be proved nor disproved by the archeologists.
When any scholar comes up with a name for the Pharaoh who PROBABLY
perished in the pursuit of Israel, the critics always counter with an objection to it.
Such an objection was dealt with by Dummelow as follows:
"The supposed discovery in modern times of the mummy of Merenptah is no
argument against his being the Pharaoh of the Exodus, or against the truth of this
narrative. Even though he did lead his host into the midst of the sea and perish with
the others, his body might have been recovered and preserved."[23]
"Jehovah saved Israel that day out of the hands of the Egyptians ..." The Biblical
record is always at great pains to ascribe the power, and the glory, and the victory,
not to Moses, but to Jehovah the God of Israel. Likewise, men should, at all times,
be careful to ascribe the glory and the honor and the power, not to themselves or to

160. their fellows, but to Almighty God through Jesus Christ our Lord. "Unto the Lamb
be the blessing, and the honor, and the glory, and the dominion, forever and ever."
(Revelation 5:13).
"And they saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore ..." An appropriate comment
on this clause in Exodus 14:31 is the following quotation from Josephus:
"On the next day Moses gathered together the weapons of the Egyptians, which
were brought to the camp of the Hebrews by the current of the sea, and the force of
the winds; and he conjectured that this also happened by Divine Providence, that so
they might not be destitute of weapons. So, when he had ordered the Hebrews to
arm themselves with them, he led them to Mount Sinai to offer sacrifice to God, and
to render oblations for the salvation of the multitude, as he was charged to do
beforehand.[24]
When the Great Seal of the United States was being designed, Benjamin Franklin
proposed the following design for the reverse:
"Pharaoh sitting in an open chariot, a crown on his head and a sword in his hand,
passing through the divided waters of the Red Sea in pursuit of the Israelites. Rays
from the pillar of fire in the cloud, expressive of the Divine Presence beaming upon
Moses, who stands on the shore, extending his hand over the sea, causing it to
overflow Pharaoh. With the inscription "Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to
God!"[25]
The marvelous events of this chapter declare in tones of thunder that Israel did not
just happen; it was created by a sovereign act of the eternal God. That what
happened here actually occurred is certain. One would be as justified in denying the
American Revolution as in denying this. It is memorialized in the song and story of
nearly thirty-five centuries, and commemorated by the continuous observance
throughout those millenniums of the Jewish Passover with its attendant rites, and
the unbroken preaching of it for almost 2,000 years of Christianity. The sacred
religion of Jesus Christ has deep roots in the historical types of this Mighty
Deliverance; and the Divine promises to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
are witnessed and confirmed as truthful and authentic by the thunders of Exodus.
Spiritually, this event is unsurpassed by anything else in the O.T. Here we see faith
rewarded, and unbelief defeated and destroyed. We see proud tyranny and
oppression cast down to oblivion and death. We see the mightiest military machine
on earth broken, defeated, and destroyed by a shepherd's crook. We see a nation of
slaves given their liberty and we see the great pantheon of pagan gods yield their
dominion unequivocally to the one true and Almighty Living God, Jehovah, the God
of the Hebrews. The experience in the wilderness of that liberated nation of slaves
has become a type for all ages to come of the struggles of the true people of God
against the temptations and hardships of earthly probation. And we see in their
final entry into the Promised Land the pledge of Divine Promise that at last the
faithful "in Christ" shall enter into that upper and better kingdom where all the
problems of earth shall be solved in the light and bliss of Heaven! Blessed be the
name of the Lord. Amen.

161. ELLICOTT, "(28) The chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host . . . —This
translation is misleading. The Heb. runs thus: “The chariots and the horsemen (who
were) all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea.” It is implied that his footmen
did not enter the sea.
There remained not so much as one of them.—The armour of an Egyptian warrior
would make it impossible for him to escape by swimming from such a catastrophe.
All who were caught by the tide would certainly be drowned. The question whether
the Pharaon was drowned or no cannot be ruled by the expression here used, nor by
any parallel one in the Psalms (Psalms 78:53; Psalms 106:11); it depends on more
general considerations. In the first place, is it likely that if the Pharaoh had been
killed there would have been no explicit mention of it? Would the point have
remained one open to question? Secondly, if the Pharaoh had been killed, would the
Egyptian annals have retained no trace of it? Must we not have had some account of
a great king cut off in the flower of his age, after a reign of two, or at the most three,
years? (Comp. Exodus 2:23; Exodus 4:19, &c.) But Menephthah, to whom all the
indications point, reigned at least eight years. The latter part of his reign was
inglorious, and he left the empire a prey to pretenders; but he was not suddenly cut
off after reigning a year or two. Thirdly, was an Egyptian king sure to lead an
attack, and place himself in the position of most peril? This has been asserted, and it
is so far true, that most Egyptian kings, according to the records which they have
left of themselves, so acted. But it happens that Menephthah records it of himself
that on one great occasion, at any rate, he kept himself out of danger. His country
was invaded by a vast army of Libyans and others from the northwest in the fifth
year of his reign; the assailants menaced his chief cities, and the peril was great.
Menephthah collected all his forces to meet the danger, but declined to lead them
out in person, pretending that one of the Egyptian gods, Phthah, had forbidden him
to quit Memphis (Brugsch, History of Egypt, vol. ii., p. 119). It is thus quite
probable that he would remain with the reserve of footmen when the chariots and
horsemen entered the bed of the sea.
PETT, "Exodus 14:28
‘And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even all the
host of Pharaoh that went in after them into the sea. There remained not so much as
one of them.’
The whole picture is vivid and suggests an eyewitness. The Egyptians clogged in the
mud, struggling to get back, finding the waters which have arrived preventing them
and then themselves being engulfed by further waters flowing down on them.
“There remained not so much as one of them.” They were all swept away before the
astonished eyes of the children of Israel. This does not exclude the possibility that a
few eventually survived and struggled out of the water. It is the impact that is
described, not the minute detail. But in the end all that would remain would be a
calm, flat sea which looked as though nothing had happened there at all (although it
had to disgorge some of the dead first). Pharaoh’s elite troops had simply vanished

162. and were no more. All the things we fear most leave little mark on history. Before
the Lord of history they are as nothing.
29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry
ground, with a wall of water on their right and on
their left.
GILL, "But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the
sea,.... The bottom of it becoming so through the strong east wind, which blew all night
until they came to the opposite shore, where they landed on "terra firma"; and so
Noldius renders the phrase "through the sea"; that is, from shore to shore:
and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left; See
Gill on Exo_14:22.
COKE, "Exodus 14:29. But the children of Israel walked— Or, had walked. In
order more strongly to point the contrast, after the sacred historian has mentioned
the utter extirpation of the infidel Egyptians, he repeats, that the Israelites had
passed safely through those waters, which became so pernicious to Egypt, while they
were to the Israelites as a wall on their right hand, and on their left. They had
passed in the morning-watch; that is, in somewhat less than twelve hours, (compare
Exodus 14:20-21; Exodus 14:24; Exodus 14:27.) which might have been easily
accomplished, as the place of their passage, according to the best writers, was not so
much as twenty miles over.
EXPOSITOR'S DICTIO ARY, "Exodus 14:29
The sack of Jewry after Jewry was the sign of popular triumph during the Barons"
War. With its close fell on the Jews the more terrible persecution of the law.... At
last persecution could do no more, and on the eve of his struggle with Scotland,
Edward, eager for popular favour, and himself swayed by the fanaticism of his
subjects, ended the long agony of the Jews by their expulsion from the realm. Of the
sixteen thousand who preferred exile to apostasy few reached the shores of France.
Many were wrecked, others robbed and flung overboard. One shipmaster turned
out a crew of wealthy merchants on to a sandbank, and bade them call a new Moses

163. to save them from the sea.—Green, Short History of English People, pp198-199.
References.—XIV:30.—Phillips Brooks, The Mystery of Iniquity, p55. C. Brown,
The Birth of a ation, p130.
TRAPP, "Exodus 14:29 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.
Ver. 29. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land.] This is applied as a type
of Christ, [1 Corinthians 10:2] to show that Christ is present with his people, to save
them in all troubles and afflictions, [Isaiah 43:2] and from all their spiritual enemies
and sins, both by justification and sanctification, [Micah 7:19] through faith in him,
[Hebrews 11:29] and will in the end give them songs of victory and triumph.
[Exodus 15:1-27 : 1 Kings 15:3]
PETT, "Exodus 14:29
‘But the children of Israel walked on dry land in the middle of the sea, and the
waters were a wall to them on their right and on their left.’
This verse is in direct contrast with Exodus 14:28 and repeats what has been said
earlier. For the one the waters returned, for the others the waters were a protection.
For the one the ‘dry land’ was a trap, for the others it was a walkway.
“Were a wall to them.” Acted as a protection from any interference. All the danger
was restricted to one direction.
30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands
of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians
lying dead on the shore.
CLARKE, "Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore - By the
extraordinary agitation of the waters, no doubt multitudes of the dead Egyptians were
cast on the shore, and by their spoils the Israelites were probably furnished with
considerable riches, and especially clothing and arms; which latter were essentially
necessary to them in their wars with the Amalekites, Basanites, and Amorites, etc., on

164. their way to the promised land. If they did not get their arms in this way, we know not
how they got them, as there is not the slightest reason to believe that they brought any
with them out of Egypt.
GILL, "Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the
Egyptians,.... For though it was now six or seven days since they had leave to go out of
Egypt, and actually did depart, yet they could not be said properly to be saved, or to be in
safety, till this day, when all the Egyptians their enemies were destroyed, that pursued
after them; and this was the twenty first day of the month, and the seventh and last day
of the passover, and was an holy convocation to the Lord; See Gill on Exo_12:16.
and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the sea shore; all along, as a late traveller
(h) observes, as we may presume, from Sdur (or Shur) to Corondel, and at Corondel
especially, from the assistance and termination of the current there. The word for "dead"
(i) is in the singular number, and joined with a plural may denote that they saw everyone
of the Egyptians dead, since they were all destroyed, and not one remained of them, as in
Exo_14:28. Aben Ezra thinks the sense of the words is, not that the Egyptians were seen
dead upon the sea shore, but that the Israelites standing upon the sea shore saw the
dead bodies of the Egyptians, that is, floating on the waters of the sea; but rather the
meaning is, that their dead bodies were by the force of the waters cast upon the shore,
and there beheld and plundered by the Israelites. Josephus (k) observes, that the day
following (that night the Egyptians were drowned) the arms of the Egyptians being cast
on the shore where the Hebrews encamped, through the force of the sea and wind,
Moses gathered them up and armed the Hebrews with them; and this will account for it
how they came to have arms, since it is highly probable they came out of Egypt unarmed;
and how they could fight battles as they did in the wilderness, and when they came into
the land of Canaan.
HE RY, " Here is the notice which the Israelites took of this wonderful work which
God wrought for them, and the good impressions which it made upon them for the
present.
1. They saw the Egyptians dead upon the sands, Exo_14:30. Providence so ordered it
that the next tide threw up the dead bodies, (1.) For the greater disgrace of the
Egyptians. Now the beasts and birds of prey were called to eat the flesh of the captains
and mighty men, Rev_19:17, Rev_19:18. The Egyptians were very nice and curious in
embalming and preserving the bodies of their great men, but here the utmost contempt
is poured upon all the grandees of Egypt; see how they lie, heaps upon heaps, as dung
upon the face of the earth. (2.) For the greater triumph of the Israelites, and to affect
them the more with their deliverance; for the eye affects the heart. See Isa_66:24, They
shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against
me. Probably they stripped the slain and, having borrowed jewels of their neighbours
before, which (the Egyptians having by this hostile pursuit of them broken their faith
with them) henceforward they were not under any obligation to restore, they now got
arms from them, which, some think, they were not before provided with. Thus, when
God broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces, he gave him to be meat to the people
inhabiting the wilderness, Psa_74:14.
JAMISO , "Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore, etc. — The
tide threw them up and left multitudes of corpses on the beach; a result that brought

165. greater infamy on the Egyptians, but that tended, on the other hand, to enhance the
triumph of the Israelites, and doubtless enriched them with arms, which they had not
before. The locality of this famous passage has not yet been, and probably never will be,
satisfactorily fixed. Some place it in the immediate neighborhood of Suez; where, they
say, the part of the sea is most likely to be affected by “a strong east wind” [Exo_14:21];
where the road from the defile of Migdol (now Muktala) leads directly to this point; and
where the sea, not above two miles broad, could be crossed in a short time. The vast
majority, however, who have examined the spot, reject this opinion, and fix the passage,
as does local tradition, about ten or twelve miles further down the shore at Wady
Tawarik. “The time of the miracle was the whole night, at the season of the year, too,
when the night would be about its average length. The sea at that point extends from six
and a half to eight miles in breadth. There was thus ample time for the passage of the
Israelites from any part of the valley, especially considering their excitement and
animation by the gracious and wonderful interposition of Providence in their behalf”
[Wilson].
BE SO ,"Exodus 14:30. Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore —
Rather, Israel upon (or from) the sea-shore saw the Egyptians dead — That is, saw
their dead bodies floating upon the waters. It is likely, however, that the bodies of
many of them were cast on shore, and became food to the beasts and birds of prey
that frequent the wilderness, which may be the meaning of Psalms 74:14; and that
the Israelites had the benefit of the spoil, especially of their arms, which they
wanted. The Egyptians were very curious in preserving the bodies of their great
men; but here the utmost contempt is poured upon the grandees of Egypt: see how
they lie, heaps upon heaps, as dung upon the face of the earth!
COKE, "Exodus 14:30. Saved Israel that day— We have observed before, ch.
Exodus 12:15 that this deliverance was perfected on the last day of unleavened
bread; i.e. on the twenty-first of Abib; and it has been thought that the command,
Deuteronomy 5:15 took place from this day; or, at least, from this time became an
additional motive for the observation of the Sabbath. See Mede's Works, Discourse
15:
And Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore— Or, as others, and Israel,
upon [or, from] the shore, saw the Egyptians dead. Either interpretation may be
justified: for we may easily suppose, agreeably to the first sense, that the dead
bodies of the Egyptians were, many of them, borne by the waves, and cast upon the
shore: or that, agreeably to the second, the Israelites saw, from the shore, whereon
they stood, the bodies of the Egyptians floating upon the waves. Some have
conceived, that the dead bodies of the Egyptians, cast upon the shore, became a prey
to the beasts of the wilderness; and they have imagined, that this is referred to in the
14th verse of the 74th Psalm.
We must not conclude our notes on this chapter, without referring the reader to the
observation of St. Paul, who considers this whole transaction as a type, or sensible
representation, of baptism; 1 Corinthians 10:2.

166. REFLECTIO S.— ow the full measure of Egypt's sin is come, and her
punishment is accordingly.
1. God's own people are secure. Moses, as commanded, stretches out his rod.
Straight the east-wind ariseth, the stormy billows part their curling heads, and deep
divided foam around above them, while Israel's hosts, safe under His wings whom
winds and waves obey, march fearless through: nor, though amid the darkness of
the night, with such a Guide and such a Light, need apprehend mistake or danger.
ote; God's people in every age have found him a very present help in trouble; and
shall not we remember the days of old, and trust him? Surely we shall never be
ashamed when we do so.
2. The presumption of sinners is their ruin. The Egyptians, infatuated with rage,
drive furiously between the parted waters, and madly press to overtake those who
were borne, as it were, on eagles' wings. But in their mid career, terrors seize them:
one look from the offended God of Israel strikes every heart with dire dismay: their
chariots hang entangled in the sands, the clay, and the weeds; their wheels start
from their axles, their way is embarrassed, they can neither fly nor pursue. Too late
convinced, they fain would turn, but now the approaching watery walls prevent
escape: in vain they cry, in vain they urge the fiery steed, or press towards the
distant shore; every avenue is closed. Advancing slow, the overwhelming waves first
kill with fear, then burst impetuous on these devoted heads. Proud Pharaoh and his
horsemen now lie low, no more the terror of the mighty, but breathless corpses
floating on the waters, or cast upon the shore. Learn, (1.) To tremble before an
offended God: if his wrath be kindled, yea, but a little, who can abide it? (2.) It is too
late for the sinner to cry for mercy, or fly for life, when death unbars the gates of the
grave. (3.) They must fall at last, who are found fighting against God.
3. Observe Israel's triumph over them. Their bodies are cast on shore, as despicable
now, as once they were fearful. Oh, what alterations doth the cold hand of death
make! ow, the Israelites gratefully acknowledge the hand of God, and believe in
his care, and Moses's mission from him. Who would have thought such a scene
could have been forgotten, or that they should ever again refuse credence to his
word? We are ready in our prosperity to say, "I shall never be removed, shall never
doubt again;" but the sensible impressions of present mercies decay, and unbelief,
like these mighty waters, returneth to its strength again. Lord, not only remove my
unbelief, but preserve the faith thou dost bestow!
EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMME TARY, "O THE SHORE.
Exodus 14:30-31.
After the haste and agitation of their marvellous deliverance the children of Israel
seem to have halted for awhile at the only spot in the neighbourhood where there is
water, known as the Ayoun Musa or springs of Moses to this day. There they
doubtless brought into some permanent shape their rudimentary organisation.

167. There, too, their impressions were given time to deepen. They "saw the Egyptians
dead on the sea-shore," and realised that their oppression was indeed at an end,
their chains broken, themselves introduced into a new life,--"baptized unto Moses."
They reflected upon the difference between all other deities and the God of their
fathers, Who, in that deadly crisis, had looked upon them and their tyrants out of
the fiery pillar. "They feared Jehovah, and they believed in Jehovah and in His
servant Moses."
"They believed in Jehovah." This expression is noteworthy, because they had all
believed in Him already. "By faith 'they' forsook Egypt. By faith 'they' kept the
passover and the sprinkling of blood. By faith 'they' passed through the Red Sea."
But their former trust was poor and wavering compared with that which filled their
bosoms now. So the disciples followed Jesus because they believed on Him; yet when
His first miracle manifested forth His glory, "His disciples believed on Him there."
And again they said, "By this we believe that Thou camest forth from God." And
after the resurrection He said, "Because thou hast seen Me thou hast believed"
(John 2:11, John 16:30, John 20:29). Faith needs to be edified by successive
experiences, as the enthusiasm of a recruit is converted into the disciplined valour of
the veteran. From each new crisis of the spiritual life the soul should obtain new
powers. And that is a shallow and unstable religion which is content with the level of
its initial act of faith (however genuine and however important), and seeks not to go
from strength to strength.
TRAPP, "Verse 30-31
Exodus 14:30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the
Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.
Ver. 30, 31. Thus the Lord.] A mercy never enough memorised. What, then, is our
redemption from sin, death, and hell
PETT, "Exodus 14:30-31
‘Thus Yahweh saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel
saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. And Israel saw the great work which
Yahweh did on the Egyptians, and the people feared Yahweh, and they believed in
Yahweh and in his servant Moses.’
From this moment on Israel had become a nation. The stress on ‘Israel’ rather than
‘the children of Israel’ (Exodus 14:30 (twice), Exodus 14:31, Exodus 15:22) is surely
significant. Previously ‘Israel’ has always been the description used by Egypt (or to
the Egyptians) to describe them, except when used genitivally. ow they proudly
claim it for themselves.
“Saw the Egyptians dead on the sea shore.” As they watched the Egyptian forces
arrived. But they arrived as the dead bodies of the cruel soldiers who would have
mowed them down, swept up on to the seashore before their eyes. And they gazed at
their potential slaughterers, and were filled with awe and feared Yahweh and
believed in Him and in Moses, and no doubt collected whatever weapons came to

168. shore.
It was probably not the first time that the Egyptians had lost large numbers of
chariots in a battle, and it would not overall weaken Egypt as a fighting nation
(large numbers of chariots would not have had time to arrive, and they still had
much of their army). But it was the way in which it had happened that was
shocking, and the fear of what further might happen if they again chased the all-
powerful Moses. They no longer pursued, for they had lost heart for the fight.
“Believed in Yahweh.” This does not suggest that they had not believed in Him, only
that their belief was strengthened. Compare Exodus 6:3 which did not mean that the
Patriarchs had not known Him before, only that they had not known Him fully.
Here there is a stronger believing, there there would be a stronger knowing. In both
cases the verbs are intended to be seen as intensive. Their belief was made strong
and personal, just as their knowledge of Him and His ways became strong and
personal. They now knew Yahweh as they had never known Him before and trusted
Him as never before.
“And in Moses.” Moses gained a new prestige in their eyes. Up to this point they had
always had doubts about the situation but the sight of their dead enemy on the
seashore was the final testimony they needed as to Moses’ validity. (Compare
Exodus 4:1).
The central place that this deliverance took in the worship of Israel is reflected in
Psalms 77:15-16; Psalms 77:19-20; Psalms 136:13-15, and it is mentioned specifically
in Isaiah 11:16 as common knowledge. For the fact of the deliverance from Egypt as
a whole see 1 Kings 8:16; 1 Kings 8:21; 1 Kings 8:51; 1 Kings 8:53; Jeremiah 2:6 on;
23:7; Hosea 2:15; Hosea 11:1; Amos 2:10; Amos 3:1; Micah 6:4; Psalms 135:8-12;
Psalms 136:10-22.
ote on ‘Israel’.
As has been pointed out in previous narratives the writer generally calls the people
‘the children of Israel’. This directly connected them with Jacob and his household.
They came from him and were thus within the covenant that God had made with
him. There are exceptions when he speaks of ‘the elders of Israel’ (Exodus 3:16;
Exodus 3:18; Exodus 12:21), ‘the cattle of Israel’ (Exodus 9:4), ‘the congregation of
Israel’ (Exodus 12:3; Exodus 12:6; Exodus 12:19; Exodus 12:47) and ‘the camp of
Israel’ (Exodus 14:19-20), but all these uses are genitival (as with ‘the children of
Israel’) and again bring them into direct connection with Jacob. ‘Israel’ in these
cases is most specifically Jacob. The elders represent Jacob, the congregation
parallels ‘the children’ and represents all those who identify themselves with Jacob
and the covenant. ‘The camp of Israel’ can be seen in the same way. However, ‘the
cattle of Israel’ and ‘the camp of Israel’ are phrases in direct contrast with ‘the
cattle of Egypt’ and ‘the camp of Egypt’ and may thus be included in the next
paragraph.

169. It is in relation to Pharaoh, to the Egyptians and to Egypt that the children of Israel
are called ‘Israel’ (Exodus 4:22; Exodus 5:1-2 consider also Exodus 9:7) and in
contrast with them (Exodus 9:4; Exodus 14:19-20).
Thus this stress on the children of Israel as ‘Israel’ once they have crossed the water
out of Egypt (Exodus 14:30-31; Exodus 15:22) is surely significant, indicating a new
situation for the children of Israel. Once they have crossed the sea they are now a
clear ‘people’ and can be called ‘Israel’ in their own right. They can see themselves
as a nation, as Israel (see Exodus 18:1).
End of note.
ote for Christians.
In the ew Testament Paul speaks of this deliverance at ‘the sea’ and likens it to
baptism (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). The implication is that just as Israel were delivered
through the sea, so are Christians delivered through Christ and by the Holy Spirit
as exemplified in baptism (we are buried with Him in baptism unto death, so that
like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father we also should
walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4)). The mighty forces of Pharaoh that were
defeated can be compared with the mighty forces of evil that Jesus defeated through
His death and resurrection (Colossians 2:15). At the Reed Sea the old Israel were
delivered. At the cross it is all the true Israel who are delivered, whether old or new.
BI 30-31, "Thus the Lord saved Israel
The great deliverance
Had it not been for this great deliverance, the children of Israel would only have been
remembered in the after-history of the world as the slaves who helped to build the
Pyramids.
Their religion was fast perishing among them, their religious rites forgotten; and they
would soon have been found among the worshippers of the monster gods of Egypt. But
God had better things in store for them, when He led them through the Red Sea, making
a path for them amid the waters.
I. It was one of the greatest blessings for the human race, that during the preservation of
the Jewish people, the great truth of the personality of God, and His nearness to His
people, was set before them in language which could not be mistaken. And it is one of
the greatest blessings which we enjoy, that we have the same Lord personally presented
to us, revealed in the risen and glorified Lord Jesus Christ.
II. God is set before us here not only as a Person, but as a person who cares with all a
father’s love and watchfulness for his own people, Our hopes in days of doubt and
difficulty are directed to the same personal fatherly care of the great God who loves all
His creatures, and who loves Christians above all in the Lord Jesus Christ.
III. When a great national victory is achieved, what boots it to him who loses his life in
the hour of victory? The question for us is, not whether God has wrought a great
deliverance, but whether we as individuals are partakers of that deliverance, partakers of
the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Archbishop Tait.)

170. Israel’s deliverance
I. The state of the Israelites when Moses came to them.
1. They were in bondage.
2. They were so far conscious of the misery of their position that they had a strong
desire for liberty.
3. They were by no means ready at first to accept the message of God’s deliverance.
4. They had their comforts even in slavery. In all these things we have a picture of
ourselves.
II. The deliverance.
1. The moment the Passover is observed, that moment Pharaoh’s power is broken.
The moment that all is right between us and God, that moment Satan’s power is
broken, and he can no longer hold us in bondage.
2. The waters of judgment which saved the Israelites were the means of destroying
the vast hosts of Egypt. The power of Satan is broken by the very means by which he
intended to destroy.
3. It is our privilege to take our stand on the other side of the Red Sea, and see
ourselves “raised up with christ” into a new life. (W. Hay Aitken, M. A.)
The diving deliverer recognised
And this mighty God, who so delivered Israel in ancient time, is our God for ever and
ever. The walls and covering of our habitations are as truly upheld and kept from falling
and crushing us to death, by the Divine hand, as were the walls of waters kept upright,
like solid stone, by Almighty power, while the Hebrews passed safely between. We say
that it was miracle which protected them, and the laws of nature which protect us. But in
both cases it is God. The deepest and truest philosophy of life and faith for us is to bring
ourselves into the most intimate relations with the infinite God. The most profound and
accurate student of nature is he whose eye is quickest to see the plan and purpose of an
intelligent, governing Mind in everything that exists. What should we think of an
Israelite walking through the depths of the sea on dry ground, between walls of water
standing up like marble on either hand, and yet not recognizing the intended and
merciful display of the Divine power for his protection? What should we think of a
ransomed Hebrew standing on the safe shore of the Red Sea on that memorable
morning, and yet refusing to join in the song of thanksgiving for the great deliverance of
the night? The same that we ought to think of one who lies down to sleep at night in his
own house, and goes to his daily occupation in the morning, and never prays, never
offers thanksgiving to God, for the mercy which redeems his life from destruction every
moment. In God we live, and move, and have our being. Every use of our faculties, every
sensation of pleasure, every emotion of happiness, every possession, experience, and
hope that makes existence a blessing, is a witness to us of God’s special, minute, and
ceaseless attention to our welfare. (D. March, D. D.).

171. 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand
of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the
people feared the Lord and put their trust in him
and in Moses his servant.
CLARKE, "The people feared the Lord - They were convinced by the
interference of Jehovah that his power was unlimited, and that he could do whatsoever
he pleased, both in the way of judgment and in the way of mercy.
And believed the Lord, and his servant Moses - They now clearly discerned that
God had fulfilled all his promises; and that not one thing had failed of all the good which
he had spoken concerning Israel. And they believed his servant Moses - they had now
the fullest proof that he was Divinely appointed to work all these miracles, and to bring
them out of Egypt into the promised land.
Thus God got himself honor upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and credit in the sight
of Israel. After this overthrow of their king and his host, the Egyptians interrupted them
no more in the journeyings, convinced of the omnipotence of their Protector: and how
strange, that after such displays of the justice and mercy of Jehovah, the Israelites
should ever have been deficient in faith, or have given place to murmuring!
1. The events recorded in this chapter are truly astonishing; and they strongly mark
what God can do, and what he will do, both against his enemies and in behalf of
his followers. In vain are all the forces of Egypt united to destroy the Israelites: at
the breath of God’s mouth they perish; and his feeble, discouraged, unarmed
followers take the prey! With such a history before their eyes, is it not strange that
sinners should run on frowardly in the path of transgression; and that those who
are redeemed from the world, should ever doubt of the all-sufficiency and
goodness of their God! Had we not already known the sequel of the Israelitish
history, we should have been led to conclude that this people would have gone on
their way rejoicing, trusting in God with their whole heart, and never leaning to
their own understanding; but alas! we find that as soon as any new difficulty
occurred, they murmured against God and their leaders, despised the pleasant
land, and gave no credence to his word.
2. Their case is not a solitary one: most of those who are called Christians are not
more remarkable for faith and patience. Every reverse will necessarily pain and
discompose the people who are seeking their portion in this life. And it is a sure
mark of a worldly mind, when we trust the God of Providence and grace no farther
than we see the operations of his hand in our immediate supply; and murmur and

172. repine when the hand of his bounty seems closed, and the influences of his Spirit
restrained, though our unthankful and unholy carriage has been the cause of this
change. Those alone who humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, shall
be lifted up in due season. Reader, thou canst never be deceived in trusting thy all,
the concerns of thy body and soul, to Him who divided the sea, saved the Hebrews,
and destroyed the Egyptians.
GILL, "And Israel saw the great work,.... Or "hand" (l); the hand of the Lord, the
mighty power of God, and took notice of it, and seriously considered the greatness of it:
which the Lord did upon the Egyptians; which mighty hand he laid upon them,
and which great power he exercised on them, and which great work, the effect thereof,
he wrought in destroying them in such a manner, by causing the waters, which divided
for them and their safety, to return upon the Egyptians to their utter destruction:
and the people feared the Lord; had an awe of his power and greatness upon their
minds, and a sense of his goodness to them upon their hearts, which influenced their
fear of him, and caused them to fear him with a filial and godly fear:
and believed the Lord and his servant Moses; they believed the Lord to be the
only Jehovah, the supreme Being, the one only living and true God, faithful to his word,
able to do all things, and wise to do them in the fittest season, for his own glory and his
people's good; and they believed his promises, and the fulfilment of them; and that as he
had now saved them out of the hands of the Egyptians, he would bring them to the land
of Canaan, which he had promised their fathers to give unto them; and they believed
Moses was sent of God to be their deliverer out of Egypt, and to be their leader to the
promised land; see Psa_106:12 and who were now by the apostle said to be baptized
unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 1Co_10:1 and of their passage through the Red
sea under the direction of Moses being an emblem of baptism; see Gill on 1Co_10:1.
HE RY, " The sight of this great work greatly affected them, and now they feared the
Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses, Exo_14:31. Now they were
ashamed of their distrusts and murmurings, and, in the good mind they were in, they
would never again despair of help from Heaven, no, not in the greatest straits; they
would never again quarrel with Moses, nor talk of returning to Egypt. They were now
baptized unto Moses in the sea, 1Co_10:2. This great work which God wrought for them
by the ministry of Moses bound them effectually to follow his directions, under God.
This confirmed their faith in the promises that were yet to be fulfilled; and, being
brought thus triumphantly out of Egypt, they did not doubt that they should be in
Canaan shortly, having such a God to trust to, and such a mediator between them and
him. O that there had been such a heart in them as now there seemed to be! Sensible
mercies, when they are fresh, make sensible impressions; but with many these
impressions soon wear off: while they see God's works, and feel the benefit of them, they
fear him and trust in him; but they soon forget his works, and then they slight him. How
well were it for us if we were always in as good a frame as we are in sometimes!
K&D, "Exo_14:31
“The great hand:” i.e., the might which Jehovah had displayed upon Egypt. In addition
to the glory of God through the judgment upon Pharaoh (Exo_14:4, Exo_14:17), the

173. guidance of Israel through the sea was also designed to establish Israel still more firmly
in the fear of the Lord and in faith. But faith in the Lord was inseparably connected with
faith in Moses as the servant of the Lord. Hence the miracle was wrought through the
hand and staff of Moses. But this second design of the miraculous guidance of Israel did
not exclude the first, viz., glory upon Pharaoh. From this manifestation of Jehovah's
omnipotence, the Israelites were to discern not only the merciful Deliverer, but also the
holy Judge of the ungodly, that they might grow in the fear of God, as well as in the faith
which they had already shown, when, trusting in the omnipotence of Jehovah, they had
gone, as though upon dry land (Heb_11:29), between the watery walls which might at
any moment have overwhelmed them.
CALVI , "31.And Israel saw. After he has said that the Israelites saw the dead
bodies spread upon the seashore, he now adds that in this spectacle God’s hand,
(160) i.e., His power, appeared, because there was no difficulty in distinguishing
between God’s wrath and His fatherly love, in preserving so miraculously an
unwarlike multitude, and in destroying in the depths of the sea an army formidable
on every account. Moses, therefore, does not unreasonably conclude here that the
Divine power was conspicuous in the deliverance of the people. He afterwards adds,
that, not without their profit, did the Israelites see God’s hand; because they feared
Him, and believed Him, and His servant Moses. “Fear” is here used for that
reverence which kept the people in the way of duty, for they were not only affected
by dread, but also attracted to devote themselves to God, whose goodness they had
so sweetly and delightfully experienced. But although this pious feeling was not
durable, at any rate with the greater number of them, it is still probable that it
rooted itself in some few of them, because some seed ever remained, nor was the
recollection of this blessing entirely destroyed. By the word “believed,” I think that
the principal part of fear is marked, and I understand it to be added expositively, as
if it were said, “that they reverenced God, and testified this by faithfully embracing
His doctrine and obediently submitting themselves to Moses.” I understand it that
they were all generally thus affected, because the recognition of God’s hand bowed
them to obedience, that they should be more tractable and docile, and more inclined
to follow God. But this ardor soon passed away from the greater number of them, as
(hypocrites (161)) are wont to be only influenced by what is visible and present;
although I hold to what I have just said, that, in some small number, the fear of
God, which they had once conceived from a sense of His grace, still abode in rigor.
Meanwhile, let us learn from this passage that God is never truly and duly
worshipped without faith, because incredulity betrays gross contempt of Him; and
although hypocrites boast of their heaping all kinds of honor upon God, still they
inflict the greatest insult upon Him, by refusing to believe His revelations. But
Moses, who had been chosen God’s minister for governing the people, is not
unreasonably here united with Him, for although God’s majesty manifested itself by
conspicuous signs, still Moses was the mediator, out of whose mouth God willed that
His words should be heard, so that the holy man could not be despised without
God’s own authority being rejected. A profitable doctrine is gathered from hence,
that whenever God propounds His word to us by men, those who faithfully deliver
His commands must be as much attended to as if He himself openly descended from
heaven. This recommendation of the ministry ought to be more than sufficient to

174. refute their folly, who set at naught the outward preaching of the word. Let us, then,
hold fast this principle, that only those obey God who receive the prophets sent from
Him, because it is not lawful to put asunder what He has joined together. Christ has
more clearly expressed this in the words, —
“He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me.”
(Matthew 10:40.)
But it is more than absurd, that the Pope, with his filthy clergy, should take this to
himself, as if he was to be heard when he puts forward God’s name; for (to pass
over many other reasons which I could mention) it will be, first of all, necessary that
he should prove himself to be God’s servant, from whence I wish he was not so far
removed. For here the obedience of the people is praised on no other grounds but
because they “believed the Lord,” and, together with Him, “His servant Moses."
BE SO , "Exodus 14:31. The people feared the Lord — This great work, which
the Lord had done upon the Egyptians, was a means of begetting in them, for the
present at least, awful thoughts of God, and devout affections toward him. And they
believed the Lord and his servant Moses — ow they were ashamed of their
distrusts and murmurings; and in the mind they were in, they would never again
despair of help from heaven, no, not in the greatest straits! They would never again
quarrel with Moses, nor talk of returning to Egypt. How well were it for us if we
were always in as good a frame as we are in sometimes!
EXPOSITOR'S DICTIO ARY, "Exodus 14:31
Some believe the better for seeing Christ"s sepulchre; and, when they have seen the
Red Sea, doubt not of the miracle. ow contrarily, I bless myself and am thankful
that I lived not in the days of miracles; that I never saw Christ nor His disciples. I
would not have been one of those Israelites that passed the Red Sea; nor one of
Christ"s patients, on whom he wrought His wonders; then had my faith been thrust
upon me; nor should I enjoy that greater blessing pronounced to all who believe and
saw not.
—Sir Thomas Browne, Religio Medici (pt. i.).
ELLICOTT, "(31) Israel saw that great work.—The destruction of the Pharaoh’s
chariot force and cavalry in the Red Sea secured the retreat of Israel, and saved
them from any further molestation at the hands of the Egyptians. The spirit of the
nation was effectually broken for the time; and it was not till after several reigns,
and an interval of anarchy, that there was a revival. The king himself probably
despaired of effecting anything against a foe that was supernaturally protected; and
the army, having lost the flower of the chariot force, on which it mainly depended
for success, desired no further contest. The Israelites, as will be seen further on, in
their rapid march to Sinai avoided the Egyptian settlements, and having once
reached the Sinaitic region, they were beyond the dominion of Egypt, and for forty
years quite out of the path of Egyptian conquest. The episode in the life of the nation

175. begun by the descent of Jacob into Egypt now terminated, and a fresh beginning
was made. In the open air of the desert, cut off from all other races, admitted to
close communion with Jehovah, the people entered upon that new and higher
existence which culminated in the teaching of the prophets, in the noble struggles of
Ezra and ehemiah, and in the memorable stand on behalf of religious truth and
national independence which was made by the Maccabees.
PARKER, "Redeeming Points
Exodus 14:31; Exodus 19:7; Exodus 36:5
In the book of Exodus we have an account of the character of the people delivered
by the power of Jehovah and guided and directed by the statesmanship of Moses.
Sometimes in reading the history we think there never were such rebellious and
stiff-necked people in all human history. Moses is often angry with them; the Lord
himself often burns with indignation against them; sometimes, as cool and impartial
readers, we feel the spirit of anger rising within us as we contemplate the selfishness,
the waywardness, and the impracticableness of the children of Israel. We feel that
they were altogether undeserving the grace, the compassion, the patient love which
marked the Divine administration of their affairs. The spirit of impatience rises
within us and we say, "Why does not God bury this stiff-necked and hard-hearted
race in the wilderness and trouble himself no longer about people who receive his
mercies without gratitude, and who seeing his hand mistake it for a shadow or for
some common figure? Why does the great heart weary itself with a race not worth
saving?" Sometimes the Lord does come nigh to the act of utter destruction: and it
seems as if justice were about to be consummated and every instinct within us to be
satisfied by the vindication of a power always defied and a beneficence never
understood.
Give yourselves a little time to discover if you can the redeeming points even in so
ungracious and so unlovable a history. It will indeed be a religious exercise, full of
the spirit of edification and comfort, to seek some little sparkles of gold in this
infinite mass of worthlessness. It will be quite worth a Sabbath day"s journey to
find two little grains of wheat in all this wilderness of chaff. Surely this is the very
spirit of compassion and love, this is the very poetry and music of God"s
administration, that he is always looking for the redeeming points in every human
character. Allowing that the mass of the history is against the people: still there
cannot be any escape from that conclusion. If it were a question of putting vice into
one scale and virtue into the other, and a mere rough exercise in avoirdupois-
weighing, the Israelites could not stand for one moment. To find out the secret of
patience, to begin to see how it is that God spares any Prayer of Manasseh , surely is
a religious quest in the pursuit of which we may expect to find, and almost to see
face to face, the Father, Song of Solomon , and Holy Ghost. Moses, having come
from the Divine presence:
"called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which

176. the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that
the Lord hath spoken we will do" ( Exodus 19:7-8).
That was an outburst of religious emotion; that exclamation showed that the heart
was not all dead through and through. That one sentence might be remembered
amidst many a hurricane of opposition and many a tumult of ungrateful and
irrational rebellion. We understand this emotion perfectly. There have been times in
our most callous lives when we have caught ourselves singing some great psalm of
adoration, some sweet hymn holding in it the spirit of testimony and pledge and holy
oath. It would seem as if God set down one such moment as a great period in our
lives—as if under the pressure of his infinite mercy he magnified the one declaration
which took but a moment to utter into a testimony filling up the space of half a
lifetime. It is long before God can forget some prayers. Does it not seem as if the
Lord rather rested upon certain sweet words of love we spoke to him even long ago,
than as if he had taken a reproach out of our mouth at the moment and fastened his
judgment upon the severe and ungrateful word? Is it not within the Almighty love
to beat out some little piece of gold into a covering for a long life? It is not his delight
to remember sins or to speak about the iniquities which have grieved his heart, or to
dig graves in the wilderness for the rebellious who have misunderstood his purpose
and his government. "His mercy endureth for ever," and if we have ever spoken one
true prayer to heaven, it rings, and resounds, and vibrates, and throbs again like
music he will never willingly silence It would seem as if one little prayer might
quench the memory of ten thousand blasphemies. "And all the people answered
together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do." Here you find a
religious responsiveness which ought to mark the history of the Church and the
history of the individual as well.
"The people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses" (
Exodus 14:31).
Every good thing is set down. The Lord is not unrighteous to forget your work of
faith. We wonder sometimes in our ignorance whether any little sign of good that
has been in the heart is not written most legibly in heaven; and all things unlovely,
undivine, so written that none but God can decipher the evil record. It would be like
our Father to write our moral virtues in great lustrous characters and all the story
of our sin and shame so that no angel could read a word of it. This is the way of love.
How much we talk about the little deed of kindness when we want to save some
character from fatal judgment, from social separation, and from all the penalties of
evil behaviour! There is no monotony in the recital; love invents new phrases, new
distributions of emphasis, wondrous variations of music, and so keeps on telling the
little tale of the flower that was given, of the smile that was indicative of pleasure, of
the hand that was put out in fellowship and pledge of amity. Again and again the
story so short is made into quite a long narrative by the imagination of love, by the
marvellous language which is committed to the custody of the heart. It is God"s
way. If we give him a cup of cold water, he will tell all the angels about it; if we lend
him one poorest thing he seems to need, he will write it so that the record can be
read from one end of the earth to the other; if we give him some testimony of love,—

177. say one little box of spikenard,—he will have the story of the oblation told
wheresoever his gospel is preached. Yes, he will tell about the gift when he will hide
the sin; he will have all his preachers relate the story of the penitence in such
glowing terms that the sin shall fall into invisible perspective. God is looking for
good; God is looking for excellences, not for faults. Could we but show him one little
point of excellence, it should go far to redeem from needful and righteous judgment
and penalty a lifetime of evil-doing.
"The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work" ( Exodus
36:5)
There is a redeeming point. The spirit of willingness is in the people. They have a
good season now; they are in their best moods at this time; they are most generous;
they come forward in their very best force and look quite godly in their daily
devotion and service to the tabernacle. Surely in the worst character there are some
little faint lines of good! Why do we not imitate God and make the most of these?
We are so prone to the other kind of criticism: it seems to be in our very heart of
hearts to find fault; to point out defections; to write down a whole record and
catalogue of infirmities and mishaps, and to hold up the writing as a proof of our
own respectability. God never does so; he is righteous on the one side and on the
other; he never connives at sin; he never compromises with evil; he never fails to
discriminate between good and bad, light and darkness, the right hand and the left;
but when he does come upon some little streak of excellence, some faint mark of a
better life he seems to multiply it by his own holiness, and to be filled with a new joy
because of pearls of virtue which he has found in a rebellious race. Character is not
a simple line beginning at one point and ending at another, drawn by the pencil of a
child and measurable by the eye of every observer. Character is a mystery; we must
not attempt to judge character. "Judge not, that ye be not judged." "Blessed are the
merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." The Pharisees dragged up those whom they
found doing wrong, but their doing so was never sanctioned by the Master; in all
their attempts at judgment they were judged; whenever they displayed their virtue
he burnt up the rag and left them to carry the cinders away. This should lead us to
much seriousness in estimating character, and should keep us from
uncharitableness; but at the same time it should encourage our own souls in the
pursuit and quest of things heavenly. We do not know the meaning of all we feel and
do. Let me suppose that some man is not regarded by others as religious and
spiritual; let it be my business as a Christian shepherd to find out some point in that
character upon which I can found an argument and base an appeal. I may find it
sometimes in one great hot tear; the man would not have allowed me to see that tear
on any account if he could have helped it, but I did see it, and having seen it I have
hope of his soul. He is not damned yet. I may notice it in a half-intention to write to
the wronged ones at home. The young man has taken up his pen and begun to
address the old parents whose hearts he has withered. When I observe him in the act
of dipping his pen, I say, "He was dead and is alive again"; and though he should
lay down the pen without writing the letter of penitence, I have hope in him: he may
yet write it and make the confession and seek the absolution of hearts that are dying
to forgive him. Do not tell me of the spendthrift"s course, do not heap up the

178. accusation—any hireling can be bribed to make out the black catalogue; be it ours
to see the first heavenward motion, to hear the first Godward sigh, and to make the
most of these signs of return and submission. Good and bad do live together in every
character. I never met a human creature that was all bad: I have been surprised
rather to see in the most unexpected places beautiful little flowers never planted by
the hand of man. All flowers are not found in gardens, hedged and walled in, and
cultured at so much a day; many a flower we see was never planted by the human
gardener. In every nation, he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is
accepted of Heaven. At the risk of incurring the unkind judgment of some in that I
may be ministering to your vanity—how they mistake the case who reason so!—I
will venture to say that in every one, however unrecognised by the constables of the
Church or by the priests of the altar, there are signs that they are not forsaken of
God.
ow comes the thought for which I have no language adequate in copiousness or fit
in delicateness. It would seem as if the little good outweighed the evil. God does not
decide by majorities. There is not a more vulgar standard of right and wrong than
Song of Solomon -called majorities; it is an evil form of judgment wholly—useful for
temporary purposes, but of no use whatever in moral judgment. The majority in a
man"s own heart is overwhelming. If each action were a vote, and if hands were
held up for evil, a forest of ten thousand might instantly spring up; and then if we
called for the vote expressive of religious desire, there might be one trembling hand
half extended. Who counts?—God. What says he? How rules he from his throne? It
will be like him to say, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these
my brethren, ye have done it unto me." If he could find out in our life that we once
dropped on one knee, and began a prayer, there is no telling what may be done by
his love in multiplying the act into an eternal obeisance and regarding the
unfinished prayer as an eternal supplication. This is how the judgment will go. God
has not forsaken us. To open his book with any desire to find in it reading for the
soul is a proof that we are not abandoned of our Father; to go into the sanctuary
even with some trouble of mind or reluctance of will—to be there is a sign that we
are not yet cast out into the darkness infinite.
Yet even here the stern lesson stands straight up and demands to be heard—
namely:—If any man can be satisfied with the little that he has, he has not the little
on which he bases his satisfaction. It is not our business to magnify the little; we do
well to fix our mind for long stretches of time upon the evil, and the wrong, and the
foul, and the base. It is not for us to seek self-satisfaction; our place is in the dust;
our cry should be "Unclean! unprofitable!"—a cry for mercy. It is God"s place to
find anything in us on which he can base hope for our future, or found a claim for
the still further surrender of our hostile but still human hearts.