January
26th Exodus 14 The Lord divides the Sea
1: And the LORD spake unto Moses,
saying, 2: Speak unto the
children of Israel,
that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over
against Baal-zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. 3: For Pharaoh will say of the
children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut
them in. 4: And I will harden
Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon
Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.
And they did so. 5: And it was
told the king of Egypt that
the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of 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: And he
made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: 7: And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots
of Egypt,
and captains over every one of them. 8:
And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt,
and he pursued after the children of Israel:
and the children of Israel
went out with an high hand. 9:
But 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. 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. 11: 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 carry us forth out of Egypt? 12: Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt,
saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better
for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. 13: And Moses said unto the people,
Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew
to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them
again no more for ever. 14: The
LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. 15: And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me?
speak unto the children of Israel,
that they go forward: 16: But
lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it:
and the children of Israel
shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17: And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians,
and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all
his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. 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. 19: And the angel of God, which went
before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the
cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: 20: And it came between the camp of
the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them,
but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other
all the night. 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. 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. 23: And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the
midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 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, 25: And took off their chariot
wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee
from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. 26: And the LORD said unto Moses,
Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the
Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 27: And Moses stretched forth his
hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning
appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the
Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28:
And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all
the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so
much as one of them. 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. 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. 31: And Israel
saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people
feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.
Exodus
15 C. The Marching to Mt Sinai The song of Moses
1: Then sang Moses and the children of
Israel
this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath
triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 2: The LORD is my strength and song,
and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an
habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him. 3: The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name. 4: Pharaoh's chariots and his host
hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. 5:
The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. 6: Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious
in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. 7: And in the greatness of thine
excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest
forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. 8: And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered
together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in
the heart of the sea. 9: The
enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust
shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
10: Thou didst blow with thy
wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. 11: Who is like unto thee, O LORD,
among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises,
doing wonders? 12: Thou
stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. 13: Thou in thy mercy hast led forth
the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto
thy holy habitation. 14: The
people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of
Palestina. 15: Then the dukes
of Edom shall be amazed; the
mighty men of Moab,
trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan
shall melt away. 16: Fear and
dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as
still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over,
which thou hast purchased. 17:
Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance,
in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the
Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. 18: The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.
The
song of Miriam
19: For the horse of Pharaoh went in
with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought
again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the
midst of the sea. 20: And
Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all
the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. 21: And Miriam answered them, Sing ye
to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he
thrown into the sea.
The
bitter waters of Marah
22: So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea,
and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the
wilderness, and found no water. 23:
And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for
they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24: And the people murmured against
Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 25:
And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had
cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a
statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, 26: And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of
the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give
ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these
diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD
that healeth thee. 27: And they
came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm
trees: and they encamped there by the waters.
In today’s reading we have the momentous event of the
crossing of the Red sea and the destruction of
the Egyptian army. Israel
fed from Pharaoh and went south east into the Sinai
Peninsula. Now when Pharaoh realised that they were escaping by a
route that would block Israel
in he thought that he would chase them and get his revenge. However this was of
the lords doing and he was heading for his own destruction. The passage says
they were entangled in the land. When we look at the route they took it was an
amazingly crooked path through great canyons towards the Red
Sea. When the children of Israel saw the Egyptians coming, a
very great army, with hundreds of chariots and foot soldiers they were afraid
and complained to the Lord. But Moses said do not be afraid but stand still and
see the salvation of the Lord. The Lord will fight for you – you must be quiet.
The children of Israel found
themselves on the beach of Nuweiba on the Red Sea (The gulf of Acabar)
And with mountains right and left and the sea in front of them. The pillar of
cloud removed from being in front of them and passed over to be behind them.
Then Moses stretched out his staff over the sea and a strong east wind blew and
parted the waters. In the gulf
of Acabar there is a
‘land bridge’ about 300 feet below the surface of the water. With a steep cliff
each side going down to 800 feet. In the time of Solomon he erected two pillars
on each side of the crossing place and inscribed with detailed of the purpose
of this memorial. The children of Israel crossed as on dry land. When
the Egyptians tried to follow Israelites into the sea the Lord disturbed them
and took off their chariot wheels so that they dragged the chariots slowly.
There are people who say that they crossed a river that was in drought. However
it’s hard to imagine why the chariots of the Egyptians would get stuck in a
trickle of water and even more difficult to imagine how they drowned. The truth
is that those who visit the crossing site would realise that that idea is pure
fiction. Then when the children of Israel
were safe on the other side the Lord caused the waters to return and on the
next day the children of Israel
saw all the Egyptians drowned in the water. This event made a huge impression
on Israel
and the people feared the Lord and they listened to Moses. After it was all
over Moses sang a song to the Lord. –
I will sing
unto the LORD,
for he hath
triumphed gloriously:
the horse
and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
The LORD is
my strength and song,
and he is
become my salvation:
he is my
God,
and I will
prepare him an habitation;
my father's
God, and I will exalt him.
The LORD is
a man of war: the LORD is his name.
Pharaoh's
chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea:
his chosen
captains also are drowned in the Red sea.
The depths
have covered them:
they sank
into the bottom as a stone.
Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in
power:
thy right
hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
And in the
greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown
them that
rose up against thee:
thou
sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.
And with
the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together,
the floods
stood upright as an heap,
and the
depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy
said, I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will
divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them;
I will draw
my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
Thou didst
blow with thy wind, the sea covered them:
they sank
as lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like
unto thee, O LORD, among the gods?
who is like
thee, glorious in holiness,
fearful in
praises, doing wonders?
Thou
stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.
Thou in thy
mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed:
thou hast
guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.
The people
shall hear, and be afraid:
sorrow
shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.
Then the
dukes of Edom
shall be amazed;
the mighty
men of Moab,
trembling shall take hold upon them;
all the
inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.
Fear and
dread shall fall upon them;
by the
greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone;
till thy
people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over,
which thou
hast purchased.
Thou shalt
bring them in,
and plant
them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place,
O LORD,
which thou hast made for thee to dwell in,
in the
Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.
The LORD
shall reign for ever and ever.
Nobody can imagine after so many
years of hard labour and bitter bondage the joy of their deliverance. Then
Miriam burst into song…
For the
horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots
and with
his horsemen into the sea,
and the
LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them;
but the
children of Israel
went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
Miriam the other sister of Moses
who was a prophetess took a timbrel in her hand and she led a merry dance in true Jewish
style. After coming through the Red Sea the children of Israel soon
came down to earth. They were thirsty! After three days the children of Israel came to
a spring but the water was polluted and they began complaining at Moses for
bringing them into the wilderness. If God was going to bless them then he was
going to bring them into a place were only he could bless them. Moses was told
by the Lord to cut down a particular tree and to throw it into the water and
the waters became drinkable. The Lord entered into a covenant that if the
Children of Israel obeyed the voice of the Lord then none of the diseases that
the Egyptians had suffered would come upon then. The Lord would he the LORD who
heals Israel.
This was always the case with Israel
and it goes a long way to explain the incidents of healing in the ministry of
Christ and his Apostles. Later they came to Elim where there were twelve wells
and seventy palm trees and the children of Israel camped there.
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