23 Aug 2025 – jeffersonvann

Exodus 14

Exodus 14:1 Then Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Exodus 14:2 “Speak to the people of Israel and make them turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you will encamp facing it, by the sea.

Exodus 14:3 Because Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the open country has shut them in.’

Exodus 14:4 And I will make Pharaoh’s heart strong, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahveh.” And they did so.

Exodus 14:5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had run, the mind of Pharaoh and his slaves was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have sent Israel away from slaving for us?”

Exodus 14:6 So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him,

Exodus 14:7 and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.

Exodus 14:8 And Yahveh made the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt strong, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly.

Exodus 14:9 The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

Exodus 14:10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and noticed the Egyptians marching after them, they were very afraid. And the people of Israel cried out to Yahveh.

Exodus 14:11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the open country? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?

Exodus 14:12 Is not this what we told you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone, so that we may serve the Egyptians’? Because it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the open country.”

Exodus 14:13 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, stand firm, and you will see Yahveh’s deliverance, which he will work for you today. Because the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again permanently.

Exodus 14:14 Yahveh will fight for you, and you have only to plow in.”

Exodus 14:15 Yahveh said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the sons of Israel to set out.

Exodus 14:16 Lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the sons of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.

Exodus 14:17 And notice, I will make the hearts of the Egyptians strong so that they will go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his riders.

Exodus 14:18 Then the Egyptians will know that I am Yahveh, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his riders.”

Exodus 14:19 Then the agent of God who had been going before the army of Israel repositioned and went behind them, so the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them,

Exodus 14:20 coming between the army of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.

Exodus 14:21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahveh drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the water was divided.

Exodus 14:22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the water having become a wall for them on their right hand and on their left.

Exodus 14:23 Meanwhile, The Egyptians pursued and went in after them; all of Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen were there in the middle of the sea.

Exodus 14:24 At the morning watch Yahveh looked down upon the Egyptian army from the pillar of fire and cloud, and threw the Egyptian army into panic.,

Exodus 14:25 clogging their chariot wheels so that they had difficulty advancing. So, the Egyptians were saying, “Let us flee from before Israel, because Yahveh fights for them against the Egyptians.”

Exodus 14:26 Then Yahveh told Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, and the water will return upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.”

Exodus 14:27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, Yahveh shook off the Egyptians into the middle of the sea.

Exodus 14:28 The water returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them survived.

Exodus 14:29 But the people of Israel had walked on dry ground through the sea, the water had been a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

Exodus 14:30 This is how Yahveh saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.

Exodus 14:31 Israel had witnessed the great hand that Yahveh used against the Egyptians, so the people feared Yahveh, and they believed in Yahveh and in his slave Moses.

Exodus 14 quotes:

“We don’t always know why God allows problems, but we know He intends to use them to heighten our maturity and deepen our faith. Trials and troubles are dumbbells and treadmills for the soul. They develop strength and stamina. Exodus 14 concludes by noting how the Israelites benefited from their narrow escape. It beefed up their faith for the great challenges ahead of them. The Israelites “feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His-servant Moses.””

Morgan, Robert J. The Red Sea Rules : 10 God-given Strategies for Difficult Times. W. Publishing Group, 2014. p. 110.

“There can be no question that the text of Exodus 14 intends the readers to understand that Yahweh, the God of Israel, is the creator of the heaven and earth, and that all other gods are no gods at all. As discussed above, the crossing at the Red Sea is portrayed as nothing less than a miracle of God.”

Newsome, James D. Exodus. First edition, Westminster John Knox Press, 1998. p. 54.

“People use such expressions as “in a pinch,” “in a pickle,” “in a jam,” “up a tree,” “in a corner,” “hard-pressed,” or “between a rock and a hard place” to describe a predicament. But whatever the expression, the meaning is the same — someone is facing a troubling situation that cannot be easily escaped. These dilemmas are uncomfortable and nerve-racking. They often bring us to the end of our resources and threaten to drive us into despair. An ancient illustration of just such a predicament is found in Exodus 14. There we will discover how the Hebrews were rescued from a humanly impossible situation that involved the pursuing Egyptians.”

Swindoll, Charles R., and William D. Watkins. Moses, God’s Man for a Crisis Bible Study Guide from the Bible-Teaching Ministry of Charles R. Swindoll. Insight for Living ; Distributed by Word, Educational Products Division, 1985. p. 77.