Wenstrom Bible Ministries Marion, Iowa Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom wenstrom

1. Wenstrom Bible MinistriesMarion, IowaPastor-Teacher Bill Wenstromwww.wenstrom.org

2. Sunday December 18, 2011Journey Through The Bible Series: Exodus 14-The Lord Destroys Pharaoh And The Egyptian Army At The Red SeaLesson # 15

3. Please turn in your Bibles to Exodus 14:1.

4. Exodus chapter 14 is divided into ten sections: (1) The Lord promises that He will be honored through Pharaoh (verses 1-4). (2) The Egyptians regret releasing the Israelites and pursue them (verses 5-9). (3) The Israelites panic at the sight of the Egyptian army (verses 10-12).

5. (4) Moses’ confidence in the Lord in the face of adversity (verses 13-14). (5) The Lord directs Moses to divide the sea (verses 15-18). (6) The angel of the Lord stands between the Egyptians and the Israelites (verses 19-20). (7) Israel crosses the Red Sea on dry land (verses 21-22).

6. (8) The Lord causes the Egyptian army to panic (verses 23-25). (9) The Lord drowns the Egyptian army (verses 26-28). (10) The Israelites place their faith in the Lord after He delivers them from the Egyptian army (verses 29-31).

7. Exodus 14:1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’

8. 4 Thus I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” And they did so. (NASB95)

9. Exodus 12:37 and 13:20 indicate that the Lord was leading the Israelites in an east southeast direction.

10. Now Exodus 14:1 tells the reader that the Lord instructed Moses to tell the Israelites to reverse direction and thus travel in a north or northeast direction.

11. In Exodus 14:3-4, the Lord gives his reasons for issuing these instructions.

12. He wants the Israelites to appear confused to the Egyptians who He knows will regret releasing the Israelites and will pursue them.

13. By reversing the direction of the Israelites and causing them to appear confused, the Lord will draw Pharaoh and his army into a trap, which will end in their destruction in the Red Sea.

14. This, the Lord says would bring Him honor and glory.

15. The Lord tells Moses to “camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea.”

16. The exact location of these places mentioned in verse 2 cannot be identified with certainty.

17. Undoubtedly, Pi-hahiroth and Baal-zephon were out of the way places that were small.

18. This sight provided the Israelites a place to set up camp and to feed their flocks and herds.

19. It must have had adequate water as well.

20. This location is undoubtedly somewhere along the coast of the Red Sea.

21. Stopping here would convince Pharaoh and his army that the Israelites were petrified to go into the wilderness and were turning back in confusion.

22. Exodus 10:19, 13:18, 15:4 and 22 reveals that “the sea” mentioned by the Lord in Exodus 14:2 is the “Red Sea.”

23. The exact location of the crossing of the Red Sea has been disputed by historians because of the failure to locate any area in Egypt that corresponds to the description furnished by Exodus 14.

24. This chapter reveals that the Israelites reversed direction going northward from their original direction.

25. Thus, it would not make sense to look for the location in a southerly location where the northern most shore of the present Red Sea is found, which is at the latitude of Memphis.

26. This would have been considerably to the south of Migdol and Pi-hahiroth.

27. Also, we know for certain that the Sea of Reeds was a distinct body of water from what is called today the Red Sea and was not a marsh as some claim but a large body of water at that time.

29. It must be noted that there are other factors which need to be reckoned with which do not suggest that the Reed Sea was a shallow marsh which diminishes the miracle that the Lord performed to deliver the Israelites from the Egyptians.

30. First of all, the variability of the precipitation cycle and the tendency to stratigraphic uplift in areas subjected to continental shift must be taken into consideration.

31. Both Egypt and the land of Canaan were subjected to major earthquakes during Old Testament times, which would at times affect the altitude of the landscape.

32. For example, the Dead Sea originally emptied out of the Gulf of Aqabah until a later uplift kept the waters of the Jordan River from progressing any farther than the shore of Sodom and Gomorrah.

33. Thus, the Reed Sea could have been deep enough in the days of Moses to drown Pharaoh and his army.

34. It did not dry up until later because of seismic disturbances.

35. Exodus 14:5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made his chariot ready and took his people with him;

36. 7 and he took six hundred select chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out boldly.

37. 9 Then the Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. (NASB95)

38. These verses tell the reader that Pharaoh and the Egyptian people regretted releasing the Israelites who were their slave labor.

39. Notice the passage does not say they were seeking revenge but actually they were seeking to enslave the Israelites once again having realized the implications of releasing the Israelites.

40. This would have an adverse affect on their already destroyed economy.

41. Amenhotep II undoubtedly must have received reports from his military patrolling Egypt’s borders.

42. The irregular movements and seemingly confused movements of the Israelites motivated Pharaoh and the Egyptians to pursue the Israelites and overtake them.

43. The Egyptians took six hundred select chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.

44. The chariot was a formidable weapon in the ancient world.

46. The chariot was employed in various major battles in the ancient Middle East.

47. They were of course only suitable for flat terrain and useless for mountainous terrain which David often fought on.

48. Also, wet and muddy ground would render the chariot useless.

49. Exodus 14:10 As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt 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?

50. 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.” (NASB95)