Exo 14.1-31 tells us about the pursuit of Pharaoh and his attempt to force Israel back to Egypt; Israel’s fearful response; Moses stands up to the threat relying on Yehovah; Israel crosses the Red Sea at the Gulf of Suez as God stops the Egyptians with a pillar of fire; Pharaoh and the Egyptians are drowned in the sea. This event happens on Nisan 17, the same day Yeshua will be resurrected, thus cutting off Satan from pursuing and capturing a believer forever.
v 1…Now the Lord spoke to Moses saying,
v 2…”Tell the sons of Israel to turn back (now instead of moving east they turn, enticing Pharaoh to follow them) and camp before Pi-hahirot (mouth where grass grows) between Migdol (tower) and the sea, you shall camp in front of Baa-zephon (“lord of the north” and a fortified place) opposite it (side) of the sea.
v 3…For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in (Pharaoh thought he had them trapped).’
v 4…Thus I will harden Pharaoh’s heart (“chazakti ha lev”-giving him strength to go on after them) and he will chase after them (Pharaoh broke his agreement of three days, and repentance is impossible now and he must go on to his doom in the sea; had he waited three days as agreed Moses would have had to return because God cannot lie), and I will be honored upon Pharaoh and all his army (how would he be honored?; God would use them as an honor guard one way or another; unlike Joseph’s Pharaoh, this Pharaoh chose the hard way), and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord (the creator God).” And they did so.
v 5…When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled (because Joseph’s tomb was empty and he knew that Israel was going to take his bones back to Canaan), Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we let Israel go from serving us?”
v 6…So he made his chariots ready and took his people with him (his personal body guard within the three day window);
v 7…and he took six hundred select chariots (his personal body guard), and all the other chariots of egypt with officers over all of them.
v 8…And the Lord hardened (“chazek”-strengthened Pharaoh to keep going) the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out boldly (with a high hand; confident).
v 9…Then the Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army (infantry, probably carried in the chariots), and they overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi-haharot, in front of Baal-zephon (a fortified place).
v 10…And as Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them and they became frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord.
v 11…Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt (a taunt to Moses, which they will often do when things went bad) that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt (they had forgotten about all the things God had done for them, as if Moses did everything by himself).
v 12…Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, “Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness (they failed to remember their “lamb”; they were still thinking like slaves).”
v 13…But Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear! Stand by (stand form; don’t break ranks) and see the salvation (Hebrew “yeshuat” alluding to Yeshua, which means “Yehovah saves”) of the Lord (Yehovah) which he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever (all the enemies of God’s people, especially our sins are cast into the sea, never to be seen or remembered ever again -Mic 7.19).
v 14…The Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace (no time for expressions of fear now).”
v 15…Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me (now is not the time for prayer, but for action). Tell the sons of Israel to go forward (now Moses knows what the miracle will be).
v 16…And as for you, lift up your staff (a type of the Messiah being lifted up for salvation; the staff is a dead branch that has been cut down; “branch” is a term for the Messiah in Zech 6.11-13; Yeshua raised in Nazareth meaning “branch”; the tree that makes the bitter waters sweet in Exo 15.25; the rod that comes alive like Aaron’s rod; a type of the cross) and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel will go through the midst of the sea on dry land.
v 17…And as for me, behold (see), I will harden the hearts (“chazek et lev” meaning he will encourage and strengthen: the Egyptians to stay in the fight and keep going) of the Egyptians and they will go in after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and horsemen (when the sons of Israel took Jacob back to the land they had an honor guard from Pharaoh to go back to Canaan, taking basically the same route to enter the land that Israel will now take; but this Pharaoh took the hard way, but Pharaoh’s chariots and army will be an escorting honor guard for Israel just the same).”
v 18…Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots and horsemen.”
v 19…And the angel of God (like the burning bush) who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them (this is synonymous with the first half of the verse).
v 20…So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud along with the darkness; yet it gave light at night. Thus the one did not come near the other all night (we will see the same elements as Gen 1 like darkness, wind and water; God separates the believer from the non-believer; the same pillar that gave light to Israel, but darkness to the Egyptians).
v 21…Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind (ruach) all night, and turned the sea to dry land, so the waters were divided (Gen 1.6-7, 9; an expanse of breathable air between the waters).
v 22…And the sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on dry land and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left (breathable air like in Gen 1.6-7).
v 23…Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit (going forward), and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea (it was dark and may have no idea they were in the sea due to their eagerness).
v 24…And it came about at the morning watch (from 2 am to 6 am in the morning), that the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians (as an enemy) through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion (by what means we are not told).
v 25…And he caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and he made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians (Hebrew “Egypt”) said, “Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord (Yehovah) is fighting for them against the Egyptians (panic because now they finally realize who they are fighting against).”
v 26…Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.”
v 27…So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at day break (all of this took time to happen) while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it (against the waves as they were coming down on them); then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea (even Pharaoh himself-Psa 106.11, 136.15).
v 28…And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained.
v 29…But the sons of Israel walked on the dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left (Exo 15.8 says the waters “congealed”).
v 30…Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore (Egypt was ripe for an invasion now because Pharaoh, his generals, 600 choice chariots and other chariots were gone, and the land had been ruined by the plagues; this may have been when the Hyksos, who we believe were the Amalekites, came to Egypt; this is the first redemption and we can look back; the second redemption is where Yeshua entered the waters of death, divided them and came out on the other side showing us the way-Psa 69.1-2, 14-15, 88.6-7, 16-18; and his coming again at yhe end of the birth- pains to deliver Israel from another Pharaoh called the False Messiah).
v 31…And when Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the egyptians, the people feared the Lord and they believed in the Lord and his servant Moses (this should be our response in the second redemption through Yeshua).
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