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| 1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, |
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| 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea: before Baal-Zephon, opposite to it, shall ye encamp by the sea. |
That they turn – This turn was perhaps necessary because of the great wall of Egypt, somewhat similar to the great wall of China, and the route taken was more favorable for pasturage, etc. R2919:2
From northeast to south; mis-interpreted by the Egyptians as becoming entangled in the land. R3997:4
And the sea – The Bitter Lakes, which lengthen out the northernmost tongue of the Red Sea. R3997:4
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| 3 And Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness has hemmed them in. |
They are entangled – They are lost. R3997:4
Shut them In – Having passed between two mountain ranges, up against the northern arm of the Red Sea, they had gone into a pen from which there was no escape. R5277:5
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| 4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he may pursue after them; and I will glorify myself in Pharaoh, and in all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah. And they did so. |
Harden Pharaoh's heart – See comment on Exodus 4:21
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| 5 And it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled; and the heart of Pharaoh and of his bondmen was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from our service? |
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| 6 And he yoked his chariot, and took his people with him. |
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| 7 And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. |
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| 8 And Jehovah hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel; and the children of Israel had gone out with a high hand. |
Of Pharaoh – Type of Satan. R5273:2, R5419:5; F458
Of Egypt – Satan's dominion of sin and death. R5643:1, R5273:1; F458
And he pursued – The powers that be may possibly concede for a time the demands of the weak and helpless and then attempt their recapture under selfishness, and through a Red Sea of trouble the Lord will administer a final chastisement. R2920:1
Children of Israel – Type of all who ultimately become God's people. F458; R5641:1, R5870:1
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| 9 And the Egyptians pursued after them, --all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them where they had encamped by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, opposite to Baal-Zephon. |
But the Egyptians – Typifying Satan's servants who have oppressed God's people. R5273:2, R5641:3; F458
All the horses – Symbolic of false doctrines. C316
And chariots – Symbolic of worldly organizations. C316
And his horsemen – Symbolic of the great leaders in false doctrines. C316
Symbolic of fallen angels and men. F458
By the sea – The Red Sea, representing the Second Death. F459
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| 10 And Pharaoh approached; and the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and the children of Israel were much afraid, and cried out to Jehovah. |
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| 11 And they said to Moses, Is it because there were no graves in Egypt, thou hast taken us away to die in the wilderness? why hast thou done this to us, that thou hast led us out of Egypt? |
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| 12 Is not this what we told thee in Egypt, when we said, Let us alone, and we will serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness. |
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| 13 And Moses said to the people, Fear not: stand still, and see the salvation of Jehovah, which he will work for you to-day; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. |
Stand still and see – The duty of God's people toward the perplexing questions of the present time. A342
Sometimes we come to the very end of all human possibilities. Then, and not till then, should we apply these words of Moses to ourselves. R5278:4
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| 14 Jehovah will fight for you, and ye shall be still. |
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| 15 And Jehovah said to Moses, Why dost thou cry unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward. |
Go forward – There is a time to pray and also a time to act. R2919:4
In giving and obeying this command faith was demonstrated. Does not the Lord sometimes allow adversities and oppositions to hedge us in? This is the time to hearken to his voice and, in faith, go forward. R3997:6
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| 16 And thou, lift thy staff, and stretch out thy hand over the sea, and divide it; and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. |
Go on dry ground – On a sand bar. R3998:2, R4623:5, R5277:6, R2919:5
Midst of the sea – The water at the upper end of the Red Sea is at no great depth, so that at times, when the tide is low, cavalry have forded it--for instance, Napoleon. R3998:1, R2919:6
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| 17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall pursue after them; and I will glorify myself in Pharaoh and in all his host, in his chariots and in his horsemen. |
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| 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have glorified myself in Pharaoh, in his chariots and in his horsemen.
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| 19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before them, and stood behind them. |
The angel of God – Not always a being; sometimes signifying the exercise of divine power in connection with human affairs. R5278:1
Cloud -An evidence of the Lord's special care over them, a great aid to their faith, discontinued when they crossed Jordan into Canaan. R3997:2
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| 20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and was a cloud and darkness, and lit up the night; and the one did not come near the other all the night. |
A cloud – From the world's standpoint, very dark; from our standpoint, the healing rays of the sun. R577:2
And darkness – Josephus and other outside narratives declare that it rained, thundered and lightened appallingly. R2919:5
But it gave light – Matters appear differently from different standpoints. Since the storm is to scatter the powers of darkness, the sooner it comes the better. R577:2
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| 21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and Jehovah made the sea go back by a strong east wind all the night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. |
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| 22 And the children of Israel went through 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. |
Children of Israel – Type of all who ultimately become God's people. F458, R5641:1, R5870:1
A wall – A barricade, protection, shield. R3998:3, R4623:5, R5278:1
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| 23 And the Egyptians pursued and came after them--all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots and his horsemen, into the midst of the sea. |
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| 24 And it came to pass in the morning watch, that Jehovah looked upon the camp of the Egyptians, in the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and embarrassed the camp of the Egyptians. |
Host of the Egyptians – Typifying Satan's servants who have oppressed God's people. R5273:2, R5641:2; F458
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| 25 And he took off their chariot wheels, and caused them to drive with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, Let us flee before Israel, for Jehovah is fighting for them against the Egyptians! |
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| 26 And Jehovah said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand over the sea, that the waters may return upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and upon their horsemen. |
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| 27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength toward the morning; and the Egyptians fled against it; and Jehovah overturned the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. |
Overthrew the Egyptians – At the end of the Millennial age Satan and all who are on his side will be forever destroyed. R3999:4
Midst of the sea – A reversal of the wind would cause the return of the waters. R4623:5
The present enslaving agencies will be overthrown by anarchy, in the great time of trouble, now near. R1657:5
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| 28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen of all the host of Pharaoh that had come into the sea after them; there remained not even one of them. |
The waters returned – Opposite Suez, the tide rises eight to nine feet when aided by strong winds, returning with unusual suddenness and power after the ebb. R3998:3*
The host of Pharaoh – Representing all who eventually will go into Second Death. R5870:1
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| 29 And the children of Israel walked on dry ground through the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. |
Children of Israel – Type of all who ultimately become God's people. F458, R5641:1, R5870:1
Dry land – On a sand bar. R3998:2, R4623:5
Midst of the sea – Possibly two miles across. R3998:2
Were a wall – In its broadest sense merely signifies a barricade, protection, shield. R3998:3, R4623:5, R5278:1
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| 30 Thus Jehovah saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the sea-shore. |
The LORD saved – Picturing the deliverance of all the obedient after the plagues. (Rev. 16) R1657:3
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| 31 And Israel saw the great power with which Jehovah had wrought against the Egyptians; and the people feared Jehovah, and believed in Jehovah, and in Moses his bondman. |
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