Exodus 14:1-14 NKJV 14 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’ 4 Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.
5 Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. 7 Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. 8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness. 9 So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.
10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”
13 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
At the end of yesterday’s reading, Moses wrote, “The children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt,” (13:18), and, “The LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night” (13:21). In today’s reading, the LORD tells Moses to make Israel camp before Pi Hahiroth by the sea. Pharaoh hears of this he assumes Isarel is bewildered and lost in the wilderness, as if the LORD, who had brought about the destructive plagues on Egypt could mislead His people. In his unbelief he had forgotten everything he had recently learned about the LORD’s almighty power. The LORD further hardens Pharaoh’s heart to bring him to punishment for his unbelief. “He pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness” (8).
When Israel hears of Pharoah’s vengeance, their boldness melts into unbelief. They complain, imagining that they will die in the wilderness and that they would have been better off as slaves of Pharaoh. Moses, the faithful shepherd, rebukes their fear and directs their hearts to trust the LORD. He will accomplish salvation for them on this very day. This will be a sign to them: “For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever” (13). Israel will not accomplish their salvation from Pharaoh. The LORD fights for them, even as He had with the ten plagues. Israel is only to wait.
Both Pharaoh and Israel are tempted to unbelief. Pharaoh arrogantly refuses to belief the LORD’s judgment on him and Egypt, while the Israelites fearfully refuse to believe the LORD’s goodness toward them. Pharoah disbelieves God’s law. Israel disbelieves His gospel. For Christians, Pharaoh’s example reminds us that we are not to arrogantly dismiss God’s threats to punish our sin, while Israel’s example reminds us that we are not to dismiss God’s promises of forgiveness, new life, the Holy Spirit, and eternal salvation. The LORD is almighty, both to condemn the impenitent and rescue the faithful. Let us pray: Keep us from arrogantly sinning on the one hand, O Lord, and from doubting Your promise of salvation on the other. Amen.