Principle
God parted the Red Sea and Israel walked across on dry land.
Explanation
GOD had one more miracle to show Pharaoh.
1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel that they turn and camp at the village between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before them by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the desert has closed them in.’ 4 Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them; and I will be glorified in Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know I am the Lord.” So they did.
5 Now it was told the king of the Egyptians that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. 7 Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. 8 Thus the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt and his servants, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with a high hand. 9 So the Egyptians pursued them, all the cavalry and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the village opposite Baal Zephon.
Exodus 14:1-9 OSB
Israel was afraid and complained to Moses:
10 Now when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the desert? Why have you so dealt with us to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert.”
13 Then Moses said to the people, “Be of good courage. Stand still and see the Lord’s salvation which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
Exodus 14:10-14 OSB
GOD told Israel to march towards the Sea:
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16 Now lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it; and let the children of Israel go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17 I indeed will harden Pharaoh’s heart and all the Egyptians, and they will go in after them. So I will be glorified in Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horses. 18 Then the Egyptians will know I am the Lord, when I am glorified upon Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horses.”
19 Now the Angel of God who went before the camp of Israel moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud also went from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and the night passed; but there was such darkness and blackness, they did not come near one another all that night. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord carried back the sea by a strong south wind all that night and made the sea dry ground. Thus the waters were divided. 22 So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 Then the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen. 24 Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud; and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. 25 He bound the axles of their chariot wheels and caused them to proceed with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots and the riders.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were trying to flee. But the Lord shook off the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all of Pharaoh’s army that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. 29 But the children of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. The waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 30 So the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Thus Israel saw the Lord’s mighty hand and the things He did to the Egyptians; therefore, the people feared the Lord and believed God and His servant Moses.
Exodus 14:15-31 OSB
The Red Sea crossing closed the chapter on Pharaoh and his relentless pride. He drowned with his whole army because he just couldn’t let Israel go and Jehovah win. So he died in defeat.
The Red Sea crossing also marked the conclusion to the great signs and wonders that GOD did in the eyes of this generation of Israelites, whose challenge would now become the testing of their faith in the desert. Sadly, the impact of these great events seemed to quickly fade from these people, whom GOD would refer to as stiff-necked and resistant.
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