19 The angel of God who was going before the
Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from
in front of them and took its place behind them. 20 It came between
the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the
darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the
sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned
the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. 22 The
Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them
on their right and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued, and went
into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot
drivers. 24 At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and
cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into
panic. 25 He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with
difficulty. The Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord
is fighting for them against Egypt.”
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. 29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the
Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel
saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people
feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
Exodus 14:19-31 is part of
the story of Israel's crossing of the Red Sea. The exodus, with the crossing of
the Red Sea at its center, became in the religious memory and imagination of
Israel, the paradigmatic act of the Lord on behalf of Israel. The annual
celebration of the Passover became the commemorative ritual celebrating the
exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12:14-17). We find the account in two versions in
Exodus, a prose account in Chapter 14 (usually regarded as the earlier account),
and a poetic account, the so-called "Song of Moses," in chapter 15. In
the song, the Lord has thrown horse and
rider into the sea. The Lord is a warrior.
The Lord cast the chariots and armies of Egypt into the sea. The floods covered them. The
Lord shattered the enemy. It describes that the waters piled up, the floods stood
up in a heap. While the enemy pursued the Israelites, the Lord caused a
wind and the sea covered them.
The Lord loved this people and redeemed them. Read carefully, although not identical in
details or sequence, the two accounts nonetheless recount, with a high degree
of similarity, the central act of liberation for the Hebrew people. The exodus,
if we understand it as the actual movement of the newly formed people of the
Lord, begins at 12:33, immediately following the 10th and final plague against
the Egyptians, the slaughter of the firstborn. Numbers 33:1-49 is a summary of
the events of the exodus. In particular, it mentions the theological nature of
the exodus in that The Lord executed
judgments even against their gods. It then gives this summary of the events
surrounding the Red Sea. 9 …
at Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they
camped there. 10 They set out from Elim and camped by the Red
Sea. 11 They set out from the Red Sea and camped in the
wilderness of Sin. The flight of the people - numbered at more than 600,000
foot soldiers (Exodus 12:37; Numbers 1:46), not counting the noncombatants,
which could have brought the total to three or more times that number - was
well under way by the time the Israelites found themselves, in this passage,
trapped between Pharaoh's pursuing army and the sea (14:1-18). The Lord is
bringing a people into being. This people remember their connection to the
Patriarchs, of course, but they are also conscious that something new is
happening under the leadership of Moses and his sharing of the revelation of
Elohim as Yahweh. The pattern we find in this passage is similar to what we
find in other pre-Israelite accounts. For example, Joshua 10:6-11 has the
Gibeonites fearful of the Amorites, but the Lord telling Joshua not to fear
them. When Joshua leads an army against them, their opponents panic. This allows
Joshua and his army to slaughter their opponents. The Lord even throws down
huge stones (hail), so much so that more of their enemies died in that way than
by the sword. Another example is I Samuel 7:7-10, where Israel is afraid of the
Philistines. They ask Samuel to cry out to the Lord for them. While Samuel is
offering his animal sacrifice, the Lord thunders with a mighty voice to the
point where the Philistines panic and Israel routs them. We find similar themes
in our passage. The angel of God (verse 19a, E) or the pillar of cloud and fire
(verse 19b-21a, 24 J), provides illumination and guidance for Israel at any
time of the day and disorientation for the army of Egypt. Moses will stretch
out his hand over the sea. The strong east wind creates a wall of water on
either side as the Israelites pass through the Egyptians pass through (verses
21b-23, P). At this point, panic grabs the army of Egypt, which, as we saw
above, is a pattern of early Israelite battles. The chariots were a fearful and
strong part of the army of Egypt. This would not happen for the Israelites, for
their homeland was too hilly for the chariot to be practical. Yet, the
intervention of the Lord in this battle on behalf of Israel turned an Egyptian
strength into a weakness (verse 25a, E). Moses will stretch out his hand over
the sea again to bring the waters back to their normal depth. The
gesture recalls 7:14-24, the first plague, with the striking of the water of
the Nile by Moses with his staff, turning it into blood. The gesture of
stretching out a staff over water, land, or heaven occurs in several of the
plagues, as in 8:5-7,
16-17; 9:23; 10:12-13, 21-22. Here, the gesture is a salvific means of escape
for the Hebrews and death to the Egyptians. The Israelites cross on dry land
(verses 28-29, P). We have an example of the crossing of the River Jordan in
Joshua 3:2-3 4b, 6-7, 9-11, 13-16, 4:10b, 11-14. The Lord promises to be with
them and drive out their enemies from the land. Upon entering the river, the
waters stand in a single heap. The people crossed, becoming a large army, with
the Lord exalting Joshua in the eyes of the people.
Our passage describes the
direct intervention of the Lord on behalf of Israel through natural events. The
Lord rebuked the sea of chaos in Genesis 1. Such a myth is behind the exodus
story as well. The mythical powers of the waters interact with the historical
liberation of the Hebrew people. The liberation of the Hebrews was an act of
the Lord as their warrior who fought for them, rather than anything they had achieved.
We can see the power of these images as they continued to find application in
new historical situations Israel faced. II Isaiah, a prophet of the exile, found
in the exodus event of liberation and divine intervention an image for the
return of the Jewish people from Babylon to their home in Judah. Thus, in
43:16-17, he reminds his listeners that they have come to believe in the Lord
who makes a way in the sea and mighty waters and destroys chariot, horse, army
and warrior. In 51:9-11, where the Lord tears Rahab the dragon into pieces,
dries up the sea, and allows the redeemed to cross. He then holds forth the
promise that the Lord shall allow the ransomed to return to Zion with praise
and joy. Some Psalms also turn to these images. In Psalm 74:12-17 (from the
exilic period), God works salvation by dividing the sea and breaking the
dragons and the heads of Leviathan. In Psalm 89:9-12 (from the exilic period),
the Lord rules the raging of the sea, crushes Rahab, and scatters the enemies. In
44:26-28, II Isaiah stresses that the Lord confirms the word of the servant and
messenger of the Lord. The Lord will resurrect the dead cities of Judah. The
Lord has sent Cyrus to be the shepherd to fulfill this promise. In Isaiah
55:12, the Lord will go in front of them and will guard them from behind.
Finally, in a passage from
J, in verses 30-31, we have a theological interpretation of what the Lord has
done. The Lord, who has become the divine patron of Israel, has done a great
work. This work included the dead from the army of the Egyptians washing up on
the seashore. This great work included the response of the fear of the Lord
among the newly formed people. We can see clearly that the divine plan is in
direct conflict with the plan of Pharaoh. We can also see that, based upon this
mighty demonstration of power, the people put their trust in the Lord and the
servant of the Lord, Moses. We have an important insight here into the role of
faith as it relates to our notion of truth. The future discloses the reality of
the truth in which one has faith.[1] The event of liberation
becomes an aspect of the revelation that the Lord is one on whom the newly
formed people can trust. Yet, the trust of this moment will prove to be
short-lived faithfulness by this people that emerges from the dramatic divine
intervention on behalf of Israel.[2] One such event will not be
enough to establish faith, for those who believe expect such moments to
continue because deity has the power to do so.[3]
Hosea 11:1 has the Lord
saying, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” This refers to the exodus of
Israel from Egypt. However, Matthew 2:15 takes it as a prophecy that the
Messiah, who is also the Son, will need to come out of Egypt. In the case of
baby Jesus, however, Israel has become the place of oppression and Egypt is the
place of safety.
The theme of the movement
from political oppression to a land of liberation is an inspiring one. The “push”
provided by oppression, combined with “pull” of a hoped for Promised Land is
powerful. Sometimes, it will mean physically leaving one land for another. However,
it might also mean that a nation allows itself to go through a gradual
transformation so that a land once oppressive becomes a Promised Land. The denial
of basic rights and respect from social and political institutions of a country
is a particularly egregious form of alienation. We can see this in the history
of slavery, segregation, and bigotry in America. It may well be that America
can be the Promised Land for many persons formerly disrespected by political
and social institutions. At the same time, we need to face a harsh reality. Some
political movements rely upon their ability to create an alienating
relationship between groups and especially between a group and its society. The
reason is that they have a vision for a different set of political
arrangements, usually in a socialist or communist direction. Further, some people
prefer to live constantly offended and victimized. America is not a perfect
place. Its people are not perfect. Yet, the vision that God created all people
equal and with rights that deserve respect can still be the political ideal
that unites Americans.
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