SERIES C --- EXODUS FROM BONDAGE --- LESSON 12

FINAL BATTLE

THE DAY THE SEA OBEYED

From Exodus 14

[Tell the people to go toward Pi-hahiroth and make camp there between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal-zephon,] Adonai told Moses. [Tell them to make camp facing the sea. Pharaoh will think you are trapped, swallowed up in the wilderness. I will harden his heart once more and he will pursue the Israelites. But I will have a great victory over Pharaoh and his army and the Egyptians will understand that I am Adonai of all.] Moses and his people did as Adonai had Commanded. Soon Pharaoh heard that the Israelites had escaped and would not return; he and his officers therefore regained their courage. [What have we done?] they asked. [Why should we let all those slaves escape?] Pharaoh pursued the Israelites in his chariot, followed by six hundred of his best chariots and officers as well as all the other chariots and drivers that could be found. The chase continued until Pharaoh and his army reached Pi-hahiroth, across from Baal-zephon, near the camp of the Israelites. Suddenly the Israelites saw the Egyptian army coming in the distance and they began to panic, crying out to Adonai for help. The people also began to complain to Moses. [Is this why you brought us out of Egypt?] they cried. [Did you bring us here to die because there are not enough graves in Egypt? Why did you take us away? Didn’t we tell you to let us stay in Egypt to serve the Egyptians? It is much better to work in Egypt than to die in the wilderness.] [Stop complaining!] Moses answered. [Calm your fears and watch how Adonai saves you today. As for those Egyptians, you will never see them again. Be still and watch Adonai fighting for you.] As Moses began to cry out for help, Adonai spoke to him. [Why are you crying out to Me?] asked Adonai. [Tell your people to prepare to march. Then stretch out your hand over the sea and it will divide and form a path before you. The people of Israel will walk across on dry ground. But I will cause the Egyptians to become stubborn and to pursue you across the sea. Then you will know My victory over Pharaoh and his army, his chariots and horsemen. The Egyptians will understand at last that I am Adonai of all the earth.] Then the Angel of YHVH, who had been leading the people of Israel in a pillar of cloud, went behind them. The pillar of cloud came between the Egyptians and the Israelites. When darkness fell and the cloud changed to a pillar of fire, the Israelites had light, but the Egyptians had darkness. The Egyptians had to give up their search for the people of Israel that night. Meanwhile Moses stretched out his hand over the sea as Adonai had Commanded. All night Adonai moved back the sea with a great wind from the east, dividing the sea and causing dry land to appear. The people of Israel moved across the sea, walking on dry land. To the right and the left, the water formed a wall. The Egyptians moved their chariots, horses and horsemen into the dry path through the sea and pursued the Israelites. But from the pillar of cloud, Adonai looked down early that morning upon the Egyptians and began to send trouble to them. Adonai caused their chariot wheels to clog and become so heavy that they could hardly move. [Let’s get away from these people!] the Egyptians cried out in panic. [Adonai is for them and against us.] When the people of Israel arrived safely on the other side, Adonai gave Moses another Command. [Stretch out your hand over the sea,] He said. [The waters will return to their place and cover the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.] Moses did as Adonai had Commanded; and at daybreak the sea returned to its place, covering the fleeing Egyptians and their chariots, their horses and horsemen; not one escaped. Thus, Adonai brought a great deliverance to His people that day, permitting them to walk across the sea on dry land, with a wall of water to the right and one to the left. The people of Israel looked out across the waters and saw the dead Egyptians washing up on the shore. When the Israelites realized what a great miracle Adonai had worked for them against the Egyptians, they were filled with awe; and they believed in Adonai and His servant Moses.

COMMENTARY

THE CAR AND TANK OF ANCIENT EGYPT

YHVH personally led His people out of Egypt by a fiery cloud. YHVH led them into what appeared to be a trap, where they were hemmed in between the desert and the sea. There they were attacked by Pharaoh, who had again changed his mind and was determined to recapture his slaves. With a great army of war chariots the Egyptians pursued… charging even into a miraculous pathway YHVH made for Israel through the sea itself. In this final battle with Pharaoh, YHVH’s people would stand still and see Adonai fight for them. Even before the time of ancient Egypt, a simple chariot was used to fight wars. It was made of two thick wooden wheels and a small platform with a stick at the front. There was room only for the driver. These chariots were pulled by donkeys, not horses. The true war chariot, the kind used by Ben-Hur, was developed about a thousand years later. It was much faster and more efficient than the earlier kind. The two wheels were no longer solid. They had four or six spokes. The frame was made of wood or leather, with a little iron or bronze here and there. Holders attached to the side of the chariot held the weapons that were used during battle. The body itself was made of wicker; the way some light furniture is today. It was pulled by horses. War chariots had to be as light as possible. That not only made them faster, but also made it possible to lift and carry them over very rough ground. At first, the war chariot could hold two people; a driver and a warrior. But when the chariot was going uphill, the warrior had to hold tight to keep from falling out the back. Eventually a larger chariot with eight-spoke wheels was developed. The driver remained where he was and so did the warrior. But a third person was added. He stood at the rear of the chariot and held up a shield to protect himself. His body protected the warrior and at the same time prevented him from falling out. But even with the third rider, chariots were clumsy and hard to handle on hilly ground and armies without chariots tried to fight all their battles on hilly terrain. Some cities and fortresses built slippery high slopes around their walls to prevent enemy chariots from reaching them. On the flat ground of the plains, the chariot was a deadly weapon. Fast and light, it made the warriors almost untouchable. Sometimes knives would be attached to the spokes of the wheels to kill as many foot soldiers as possible as the wheels spun by. Chariots were used in peacetime too. They were good for hunting, religious ceremonies, races and parades. In formal processions, a runner announced the coming dignitary to the crowds. He arrived in a decorated chariot pulled by beautiful horses. Egypt’s flat ground made it an ideal country for chariots.