Saturday, September 14, 2019

Exodus 14:21-31 Stretch out your hand!

21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided, 22and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.
23And the Egyptians chased after them—all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen—and followed them into the sea. 24At morning watch, however, the LORD looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud, and He threw their camp into confusion. 25He caused their chariot wheels to wobble,so that they had difficulty driving. “Let us flee from the Israelites,” said the Egyptians, “for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!”
26Then 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.” 27So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state. While the Egyptians were retreating, the LORD swept them into the sea. 28The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left. 30That day the LORD saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore. 31When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.

There are times when we read the Bible that we cannot stop, the miracle of parting the “Reed Sea” is so great we can’t put the book down!

The Hebrew phrase for Red Seais yam suph, which clearly means “Reed Sea.”

“The term aptly describes the lake region north of the Gulf of Suez comprising the Bitter Lakes and Lake Timsah. It is possible that the Israelites went along the narrow neck of land on which Baal-zephon stood and that the Biblical Sea of Reeds was modern Lake Sirbonis. We are certain that the crossing was in this area because the Israelites found themselves in the Wilderness of Shur after crossing the sea (Exod. 15:22).” (Pfeiffer)

“Not one of them survived.”
“This is a very graphic touch, an eye-witness account. The drowned Egyptian soldiers stand for an old way of life in slavery, now gone for ever. Somehow the sight of those dead bodies was the concrete sign that salvation and a new life for Israel were now assured.” (Cole)

Some believe the Israelites picked up the Egyptians weapons of war after their drowning and used these weapons of war while on their march through the wilderness.
But I will say the Bible doesn’t tell us that and will also say if the Lord can divide a sea and provide salvation from the Egyptians to His chosen people couldn’t He also provide the weapons of war needed for their survival?

“When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.”

“The new nation walked through a threatened death toward a new life in a consciousness of the presence and power of Jehovah from which they could not escape.” (Morgan)

Can you escape His presence and power?

Blessings, David 

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