Exodus 14:21 - Meaning and Application

Here we have the history of one of the great wonders often mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, the dividing of the Red Sea before the children of Israel. It terrified the Canaanites, the people living in the land God promised Israel (Joshua 2:9, Joshua 2:10), and it became a song of praise and victory for the Israelites (Psalm 114:3; Psalm 106:9; Psalm 136:13, Psalm 136:14). It also pointed ahead to baptism (1 Corinthians 10:1, 1 Corinthians 10:2). Israel’s passage through the sea pictured the conversion of souls, and the Egyptians’ destruction in it pictured the final ruin of all who refuse to repent (Revelation 20:14).

First, we see God’s almighty power in the world of nature, as he divided the sea and opened a path through the waters. It was a bay, gulf, or arm of the sea, about two or three leagues wide, that was split apart (Exodus 14:21). The outward sign was Moses stretching out his hand over it, showing that the act came in answer to his prayer, to confirm his calling, and for the good of the people he led. The natural sign was a strong east wind, showing that God did it by his own power, since the winds and seas obey him.

If any line in Job points to the miracles done for Israel’s rescue from Egypt, it is this: “He divides the sea with his power” and “by his understanding he smites through Rahab” (Job 26:12), meaning Egypt. God can bring his people through the hardest troubles and make a way where none seems to exist. The God of nature is not bound by nature’s laws. When he chooses, he can set them aside, and then fire does not burn and water does not flow as usual.

Second, we see God’s amazing favor toward Israel. They went through the sea to the far shore, and not, as some have thought, in a circle back to the same side (Exodus 14:22). They walked on dry ground in the middle of the sea (Exodus 14:29). The pillar of cloud, that glory of the Lord, stood behind them, so the Egyptians could not attack them from the side (Isaiah 58:8). The waters stood like a wall on their right and on their left. Moses and Aaron likely went first into that untrodden way, and then all Israel followed after them.

That march through the great waters would make their later march through the wilderness less frightening. Those who had followed God through the sea did not need to fear following him wherever he led them. This happened at night, and it was not a moonlit night, because it was seven days after the full moon. So they had no light except from the pillar of cloud and fire. That made it more awe-inspiring, but where God leads us, he also gives light. As we follow his guidance, we will not lack his comfort.

This was done and written down to encourage God’s people in every age to trust him in the hardest troubles. What cannot he do, who did this? What will he not do for those who fear and love him, if he did this for those murmuring, unbelieving Israelites, who were still loved for their fathers’ sake and for the sake of the faithful remnant among them? Long afterward, the saints joined in the joy of this event: “They went through the flood on foot; there did we rejoice in him” (Psalm 66:6). See also how this wonder is used in Psalm 77:11, Psalm 77:16, and Psalm 77:19.

Third, we see God’s just and righteous anger against his and his people’s enemies, the Egyptians. They were blinded. In the heat of their chase, they went after the Israelites into the middle of the sea (Exodus 14:23). “Why should we not dare as Israel did?” they may have thought. Pharaoh had seen the magicians of Egypt do some things like Moses had done through their tricks, and he remembered that, but he forgot how they had been completely defeated in the end. The Egyptians had better chariots and horses, while the Israelites were on foot. Pharaoh had said, “I do not know the Lord,” and now this showed that he truly did not, because he dared to follow in this way.

Nothing is bolder than blindness. Their rage against Israel made them reckless and careless. They had hardened their own hearts for a long time, and now God hardened them for their ruin, hiding from them the things that would have led to peace and safety. “The net is spread in vain in the sight of any bird” (Proverbs 1:17), yet the Egyptians were so blind that they rushed into the snare (Proverbs 7:23). The ruin of sinners often comes from their own presumption, which drives them headlong into the pit. They destroy themselves.

Then they were troubled and confused (Exodus 14:24, Exodus 14:25). For some hours they marched through the divided waters as safely and confidently as Israel did, not doubting that they would soon reach their goal. But in the morning watch, the Lord looked on the Egyptian army and troubled them. They saw or heard something from the pillar of cloud and fire that filled them with fear and made them sense their doom before it came. Here we see that the triumph of the wicked is short, and God can frighten sinners into despair before he brings them to destruction. He cuts off the spirit of princes and is terrible to the kings of the earth.

They had once boasted and acted as if the day belonged to them, but now they were troubled and terrified, struck with panic. They had driven their chariots furiously, but now they moved slowly and with difficulty. The path grew deeper, their hearts sank, their wheels came off, and their axles failed. God can stop the force of those who pursue his people. They had chased Israel like a hawk chasing a trembling dove, but now they cried, “Let us flee from the face of Israel,” which had become to them like a firebrand among sheaves (Zechariah 12:6). Israel, all at once, became as frightening to them as they had once been to Israel. They had refused to leave Israel alone, and now they wanted to flee, but could not.

People will not learn, until it is too late, that those who interfere with God’s people bring harm on themselves. When the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints to judge, the mighty will try in vain to hide under rocks and mountains from the face of Israel and Israel’s King (Revelation 6:15). Compare this with Job 27:20 and what follows.

Finally, they were all drowned. As soon as the children of Israel were safely on the shore, Moses was told to stretch out his hand over the sea. That signaled the waters to close again, just as they had opened earlier at his command (Exodus 14:29). He did so, and at once the waters returned and covered the whole Egyptian army (Exodus 14:27, Exodus 14:28). Pharaoh and his servants, who had hardened one another in sin, fell together, and none escaped.

An old tradition says that Pharaoh’s magicians, Jannes and Jambres, died with the rest, just as Balaam died with the Midianites he had led astray (Numbers 31:8). In this judgment, God punished the Egyptians for the blood of the firstborn they had drowned. The penalty came back with interest, full-grown Egyptians for newborn Israelites. In this way the Lord showed his justice, and the blood of his people was precious in his sight (Psalm 72:14).

God also settled accounts with Pharaoh for his proud, insulting treatment of Moses, God’s messenger. To mock the Lord’s messengers and treat them lightly is to invite ruin that cannot be fixed. God brought honor on himself by bringing Pharaoh low (Job 40:12). Pharaoh, who had defied his Maker, his warnings, his threats, and his judgments, now lies under the sea. He was a rebel against God, a slave to his own cruel passions, and had lost all true humanity, virtue, and honor. He became a lasting sign of divine justice, like the ruler spoken of in Ezekiel, who went down to the pit though he had terrified the mighty in the land of the living (Ezekiel 31:18).

Here is the notice the Israelites took of this great work, and the good effect it had on them for the time being. They saw the Egyptians dead on the shore (Exodus 14:30). Providence arranged it so that the next tide washed up the bodies. This brought greater shame on the Egyptians, because now wild animals and birds of prey were, as it were, invited to feed on their captains and strong men (Revelation 19:17-18). The Egyptians took great care to embalm and preserve their important dead, but here their nobles were shown the greatest contempt. They lay in heaps, like dung on the ground.

This was also meant to give the Israelites a stronger sense of triumph and deeper gratitude for their rescue, because what the eye sees often reaches the heart most strongly. Scripture speaks in the same way when it says that people will look on the bodies of those who rebelled against God (Isaiah 66:24). The Israelites probably took the spoils of the dead, and since the Egyptians had broken faith by chasing them in war, the jewels they had borrowed from their neighbors were no longer under any obligation to be returned. They may also have gained weapons from the fallen Egyptians, which some think they did not have before. In this way, when God broke Leviathan’s heads in pieces, he gave him as food to the people of the wilderness (Psalm 74:14).

The sight of this great act deeply moved the people. They feared the Lord and believed the Lord and his servant Moses (Exodus 14:31). They were ashamed of their distrust and complaining, and in that better frame of mind they would not again despair of help from heaven, even in great trouble. They would not again quarrel with Moses or speak of going back to Egypt. In effect, they were baptized into Moses in the sea (1 Corinthians 10:2), because this great work, done by God through Moses, bound them to follow his guidance under God.

This event also strengthened their faith in promises that were still ahead. Having been brought out of Egypt in such a triumphant way, they could not doubt that Canaan would soon be theirs, with such a God to trust and such a mediator, that is, a go-between who stands between God and people, to lead them. Oh, if only they had always kept the heart they seemed to have then. When mercies are fresh, they often make a strong impression. But with many people, that feeling soon fades. While they see God’s works and feel their benefit, they fear him and trust him, but soon they forget his works and then treat him lightly. How good it would be for us if we stayed in the same good frame of mind all the time.